A New Perspective
by obsessedwithall06
Summary: Erik is in a terrible car crash and is rushed to the hospital where Christine is his nurse. Progresses after Erik leaves the hospital. The first chapters are a bit shorter but the later chapter are longer. Sweet modern AU. E/C.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own POTO or any of it's characters**. **The idea behind this fic was I wanted to see how Christine and Erik would interact together if she had seen his face from the beginning and been fine with it. **

**I hope you enjoy reading :)**

* * *

It was late evening, almost night and Erik was driving home from the store. He had been forced to go out, he did need food after all, because of Nadir's refusal to go for him. Even when Erik had offered him sufficient pay. He said Erik needed to get out more. So Erik went, curing Nadir the whole time, at night in hopes that less people would be there to stare at his mask. But now it was dark outside and Erik felt almost calm driving home. He knew no one could see through his tinted windows and he enjoyed the peace of driving. Very few cars were on the road due to the late hour and he relaxed in the relative solitude.

When Erik was about halfway home it started raining. And then it started pouring. As he approached the next intersection he saw that the light was green and continued through.

In another car, on the road perpendicular to Erik, the driver did not see his red light and continued through at a reckless speed crashing into the other car.

Erik was in the middle of the intersection when he felt it, a blunt force crashing into his car and causing it to skid across the road. His car crashed in around him and his head slammed through the windshield. His mask flew off shattered into pieces, that went flying everywhere. All he felt before he lost consciousness was pain.

* * *

Christine was in the middle of her shift at the E.R. It was already late in the evening, most people didn't like to work this shift but Christine didn't mind. She actually enjoyed it and she was happy to take the burden off of her coworkers' shoulders.

Suddenly the paramedics were wheeling a patient in. "John Doe, he was in a car crash. His head was through the windshield and his body was crushed. Bleeding from the head and bandaged ar scene. Possible broken bones." they presented.

Christine was called into the scene and she might have gasped if she hadn't seen patients similar to this before. The man had bruises all over his body. His arms had large pieces of metal stuck in them and his legs were swollen. His head had a bandage around a wound that looked like it had been bleeding profusely before. His face was covered and blood and had what Christine hoped was some sort of deformit marred it, flesh twisted in a grotesque manner. She didn't want to think of what sort of accident could cause such extensive damage to his features.

She rushed to assist the doctors working on his team. She worked around with everyone, first hanging and I.V. with pain medicine. He certainly needed it. She then helped remove the metal from his arm. She cleaned and bandaged his arm. In a flurry of activity, time ceased to exist as the team worked to keep the man alive. One he was stable the surgeons came to fix the internal bleeding.

* * *

Later that evening Christine was monitoring the car crash patient from earlier. He was in the ICU now, post successful surgery. They had not found any form of I.D. on the scene so his identity remained a mystery to her. Now when she looked at him she could still see the damage from the crash. He was battered and covered in bandages. It appeared she was correct on guessing that he had a facial deformity. The skin on half his face was twisted and looked scarred but Christine looked at it easily. She worked at a hospital and she had seen many terrible deformities and the terrible damage some burn victims had. The other half of his face was unmarred. She sat down in a chair near his bed to do charting while she monitored him.

Erik woke up slowly. His head was fuzzy and his last memories were of pain and bright lights. He realized he was not in his home, and not in his own bed. There was faint beeping all around him and he was hooked up to a monitor. He had a tube in his arm. He weakly tried to move but his body was heavy and didn't obey him. He was ready to relax into what he assumed was a hospital bed and when he noticed that something was off. He could feel the cool air of the room on his face. Suddenly his hand flew to his face and he sat upright in bed. He was wildly scanning for his mask when the woman sitting next to his bed noticed him sitting up.

"Oh, Sir you're awake. How are you feeling? You need to be careful, you were in a terrible accident"

Erik felt panic welling in his chest. She had to have seen his face. He didn't have his mask, someone must have taken it off. Anger shot through his body. "Where is my mask?" he demanded "I was wearing in when I was driving, one of you must have taken it off. I want it back! You have no right to take my property!"

Christine was taken aback by the man's violent reaction. She looked at him, confused. "Sir, you didn't come in with any sort of a mask. By the time you got to the hospital, you had no mask. And the paramedics would have brought it if the found it on the scene."

He looked taken aback for a moment but quickly regained his fiery composure. "You lie" he hissed at her and moved to stand up "I will find it for myself".

As Christine saw him attempt to rise she moved to his bed and gently pushed him down onto the bed. "Sir, please I understand that you are upset but I promise you I'm not lying to you. You need rest, you can't go walking around all over the hospital.

Erik sank into the bed weakly as she pushed him down, it's not as if he had much strength to resist. As he spoke he realized the truth in her words. He was silent for a moment before he rasping out "But my face... its horrific truly... I can't just leave it uncovered" he protested.

Christine smiled soothingly but inside he heart broke for the man. "It's okay, its really not that bad"

Erik looked at the kind women like she had three heads "I think you should get your vision checked" he said incredulously "I don't see how you can say that"

"I can say it because it is true" she insisted. "If I may ask what is your name, sir, they didn't find your I.D. at the crash"

"Erik" he replied "My name is Erik"

"Well Erik, my name is Christine, I'm going to be one of the nurses helping you recover. You have a long road ahead of you but you are lucky to be alive"

Erik lie back on the bed, reflectively. Usually, he would have scoffed at her words, how could he be lucky to be alive with his cursed face. He didn't even deserve to be alive. But for the kindness of Christine, he thought perhaps he was. For this nurse, was kind to him despite his face. Smiled at him even. And if people like her existed in the world, then maybe it was worth living. And he knew he was certainly lucky to meet her.

* * *

**Please excuse any mistakes I made with describing the care of Erik after the car accident. I'm not a doctor but I did try my best to make it accurate. Please review. Also, my inbox is always open if you want to PM me. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, so I decided to continue this, so we will have to see how it goes.**

* * *

Erik spent a restless night in the ICU after Christine had left for the night. There seemed to be no end to the people coming in and out of his room to monitor him and he did not care to have people looking at him so much. Of course, the other nurses were perfectly civil, much to Erik's surprise, but he could still feel the path their eyes took to his face. And the machines around him were always beeping or making little noises. What had seemed faint and unnoticeable at first now seemed deafening. He felt an uneasy sense of restlessness, being out of the safety of his home, and away from his compositions. He hated having nothing to do but lay there in the semi-dark.

Needless to say, he was glad when morning came and Christine's friendly face came breezing in. She quickly checked his vitals and smiled at him "Well Erik, you look like you are doing great, if you keep this up we can get you out of the ICU today, and then soon out of the hospital" she announced cheerily. "How did you sleep last night?"

"I did not" Erik responded. "I do not understand the purpose of all these machines or why I could hardly stay in my room alone for five minutes before someone came into check on me" he scowled.

Christine chuckled "That's just how it is in the ICU, but don't worry you should be out of here before tonight and you'll be much more comfortable then."

Erik only raised a skeptical eyebrow at her. Christine continued on "Oh I did want to ask you something, is there anyone we can call for you? Family, friends, someone who could help you and visit?"

Erik almost told her no, don't worry about it. He didn't have any family, and the only person he could call was Nadir. He thought unkindly that he would rather be alone than deal with the pesky presence of Nadir. But then as he thought about it he was sure Nadir could bring him a mask and he wouldn't have to have people looking at him, well at least not as much. "Well... there is an acquaintance you can call, I'm sure he would come"

"Great! Give me his number and I'll call him for you," said Christine.

Erik wrote down Nadir's number for Christine and handed it to her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nadir was sitting in his home peacefully reading the paper, when his phone rang.

"Hello this is Greenwood Hospital, is this Nadir Khan?" asked a female voice on the other end.

"Yes, this is he... why are you calling me?" Nadir asked

"Your friend, Erik, is here. He said that you were someone we could call? If you would like to visit he is on the third floor, room 318" said the voice.

Nadir drew in a breath. What had happened to Erik? Why was he in the hospital? What was bad enough that Erik, Erik, decided to call him. "Of course, I'll be there as soon as I can. What happened?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say, you'll have to come here and I'm sure Erik can tell you" she responded.

Yeah, fat chance of that thought Nadir grimly. "Okay, well thanks anyways, I'm heading over now," said Nadir.

"Okay, goodbye" she responded before hanging up. Meanwhile, Nadir grabbed his coat and left for the hospital.

* * *

While Christine was talking to Nadir, Erik was cleared by another nurse to be moved out of the ICU. Now he was sitting in bed after the harrowing journey from his previous room. It was then that Christine came into the room. "Hey, I see you're here now, are you comfortable? If there is anything I can get you let me know. Also, your friend is on the way"

"I'm fine thank you, and he's more of an annoying acquaintance than a friend," Erik said.

Much to Erik's joy Christine laughed at this "Well you can't hate home too much or you wouldn't have had me call him" she insisted. Erik just looked at her and she continued on "But I have good news from you, you should be able to go home soon, just a few days, of course then you will still need to go to PT but you have a good prognosis"

"I will be glad to be home" Erik agreed.

"Soon you should be," said Christine "Alright, I should get going now unless you need anything?"

"Stay, please" asked Erik "I have nothing else to do and I enjoy talking to you"

"I can't be that great company," Christine said but she sat down nonetheless. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"Tell me about yourself, what made you decide to become a nurse? What else do you like to do?" Erik inquired

"Well, I used to want to be a singer, but... things change. My dad died of cancer when I was in high school and I couldn't afford lessons or anything like that, especially with all the doctor's bills. Without those, I knew I would never be good enough to make it. So I became a nurse to save up money to maybe do that in the future. I guess I could have chosen anything but I like to help people, and the nurses who helped my dad while he was sick were always so nice and helpful with everything, and I wanted to give back what they gave me" Christine explained "They gave him, and me, comfort in his last moments"

Erik was silent for a moment before speaking "I'm very sorry about your father, you truly are an amazing person to be so kind despite losing him." he said sincerely, such a kind soul did not deserve to suffer such sorrow. "You sing? I'm sure you have a beautiful voice, would you sing something for me?" Erik had no idea what possessed him to ask her this. He had no idea if she was actually good. But he still wanted to hear her sing. Perhaps he had been away from composing for too long. Perhaps he was just lonely and wanted the added company of her voice. A part of him just told him that he had to hear her sing.

"Oh, well I'm sure I'm not that good, I mean I'm not a professional or anything" Christine protested.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you have a fine voice" Erik insisted "And didn't you say you wanted to know of you could get me anything? Well I want you to sing"

Christine sighed, slightly amused "Using my own words against me are you now?" Fine, I'll sing" she said and paused to decide on a song. She decided on one, thinking of her father as she often did when she sang.

_How I wish that I could tell you_  
_It's to you that I would run_  
_You were the place that I could always rest my head_  
_When my world had come undone_

_'Cause I've been wrestling with my demons_  
_Telling me I have no choice_  
_How I wish that I could lean upon you now_  
_Amidst the chaos and the noise_

_Your light buried the dark_  
_A constant unwavering heart_

_You were the well to cool my fury_  
_Deep and calm your waters feel_  
_Your quiet words a salve to soothe my wayward soul_  
_It was there I learned to heal_

_Your light buried the dark_  
_A constant unwavering heart_

_Oh I hope that you can hear me_  
_Through the ravages of time_  
_You have carried me through more than you could know_  
_I still feel your hand in mine_

_Your light buried the dark_  
_A constant unwavering heart_

_Your light buried the dark_  
_A constant unwavering heart_

She finished with tears in her eyes that she quickly wiped away.

"You have a beautiful voice Christine" Erik spoke softly. And it was true, her voice was sublime, she had so much potential. With just a little practice and training she could bring the world to its feet.

"Thank you Erik" smiled Christine

* * *

**So... tell me what you think. I hope you liked the addition. The song Christine sang is "song for my father" by Sarah Mclachlan. She wrote it about her father who she lost to cancer. If anyone has lost a loved one to cancer, my condolences. It is terrible to have someone you love taken from you. Anyways, please review, I love to hear what you think. **


	3. Chapter 3

**So for the last chapter some of the other songs I thought of doing were Breathe(2am) by Anna Nalick and Gone,Gone, Gone by Philip Philips. Both are really good songs so if you think you'd like them cheeck them out. I decided on the song I choose even though I didn't know it very well because it made sense for Christine's father backstory. In addition I'm off of school for the next week for coronavirus then a week for spring break so I'll probably have more time to write. In addition I hope everyone in areas affected badly by the coronavirus stays save. I think we should all be fine, but stay safe. But I'm sure everyone is, like me, tired of talking about the coronavirus so I won't talk about it anymore. Thank you for those who left a review. Now, on with the story.**

* * *

A few minutes later Christine and Erik had returned to idle chatter, mostly about music which they discovered they had a shared passion for, Nadir came suddenly into the room. His eyes fixed almost instantly in Erik his expression filled with shock. Here Erik was talking to another person without his mask. Christine quietly excused herself and the awkward silence continued for a moment.

Finally Erik spoke "How kind of you to interrupt Daroga" he said dryly.

This snapped Nadir out of his stupor and he began questioning Erik "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I am perfectly fine, now. Apparently I was in a car accident and I was quite badly injured but alas I live" Erik answered "Now if you are satisfied I was wondering if you could bring me a mask, the one I was wearing was destroyed in the crash and I do not desire to make these poor people who have helped me suffer the groutesquness that is my face"

Nadir looked at Erik sadly "I will bring you your mask of it is your wish, but what about that young nurse just in here, she was perfectly friendly to you"

"She different!" Erik said harshly "And even of she is being kind she can't desire to look upon this" he gestured at his face.

"Very well Erik" Nadir said, knowing when to let a subject drop "I am glad you called me though, I'm faltered, you must finnaly consider me a friend" he said with a exaggerated flare.

Erik scoffed "Dont get ahead of yourself Daroga, I only called you here to get my mask, you can leave now" he said pointedly looking at the door.

"Fine" Nadir said glaring at him "But I'm visiting for real sometime, someone has to look after you"

This just made Erik scowl "I have plenty of nurses for that pitiful job. Surely you must have something better to do Daroga, you must at least know some other people"

Nadir the up his hands in mock offense "Fine, fine, I'm leaving, I'll be back"

"I await you with baited breath" Erik deadpanned.

* * *

The next day when Christine visited Erik he had replaced his mask. "Good morning Erik" she greeted.

"Good morning Christine" he replied back "How are you today?"

"Good, except I'm the one whose supposed to be asking you that question" Christine joked.

"I am feeling fine, although I still do not care doe the hospitals constant monitoring system" he said sullenly.

Christine smiled "No one does, but we should have you home soon, by tomorrow"

Erik felt a strange mix of emotions at hearing this. On one hand he hated being in the hospital around all these people who were always looking at him. Away from his home and his music. And having almost no control on his life. But at the same time he was loathe to leave Christine the only soul other then Nadir, and he didn't really count, who had ever shown Erik kindness. She had a natural beauty about her sould. She was kind enough to ignore his face. And she was beutiful. Her fine golden hair was always pulled back in a ponytail or a bun when she was working but he could image its beauty when she wore it down. She had sweet blue eyes that sparkeled with joy and kindness. And he would never see her again once he left. "Yes, that's good I suppose" he said absentmindedly.

"So what is it that you do anyways. I feel like I dominate the conversation. I'm sure you'd like to talk about some more entertaining than me" she said breezily.

"That's not true, I enjoy talking with you very much" he argued "Your company is enough" "I'm a musician I play music and I compose" he stated. He was a musical genius, but he did not mention that. Music was the one thing he had done right with in the world.

"You compose?" she asked eagerly. "You've been holding out on me, would I know any of your works?"

"No, I never publish, although I think I could. But my music is just to special to me. The masses would ruin it" he said thoughtfully.

"I get that" she nodded "A lot of people don't understand how special music is, they take it for granted"

"Exactly" he replied with a rare smile. She returned it tenfold with a brilliant smile of her own.

* * *

The next day for Erik came too fast. Today would be the day he was leaving, the day he had to say goodbye to Christine. He almost laughed at the whole situation. He finally found one person he enjoyed spending time with only for them to be ripped away unceremoniously. He signed deeply as he sat waiting for Christine to come and release him from the hospital.

* * *

When Christine got to work it was afternoon. She checked into the nursing station "Hey, do you have the discharge papers for Mr. Destler, room 318". Another nurse handed them to her and she headed off to his room.

"Hey Erik" she greeted as she entered to room "I've got good news for you, you get to go home today"

Erik kept the stoic look on his face as he replied "Yes, that's nice" he said quietly "I will miss you though, you have been very kind"

Christine smiled and brushed him off "I'll miss you too" she said "but don't let mr see you here again do you here me? You need to stay save and healthy, promise me"

"I promise" Erik affirmed "But this is only because I like you"

She smiled. "Do you have someone to get you home?" she aksed, switching back to her job duties.

"Yes, Nadir"

"Great, well then I can safely say that you are allowed to go" she said. Christine noticed that Erik was quieter than usual as she escorted him back out of the hospital, but she let it rest to respect his privacy. She was melancholy about loosing his company. She had grown fond of him over his stay at the hospital. But she was used to this in a way she knew patient never stayed, and that was good. Her internal monologue was cut off when they exited the hospital.

"That's Nadir waiting in that car" Erik said.

"Alright then, Goodbye Erik, take care of yourself"

"I will" Erik vowed "Goodbye Christine"

And with that they departed, and Erik tried to ignore the ache in his chest that he was sure was not medically related.

**End of chapter. So what did you guys think? Maybe Erik feels a bit more than friendship towards Christine? I tried to make this as realistic as possible to the short hospital stays of today. Also with Christine's schedule she wouldn't have a ton of time to spend with Erik, nurse are very busy, so I tried to make it as realistic as I could while still having a story. Don't worry, you will see more of you favorite dou soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome back, hope you enjoy this new chapter. Thank you to those who have reviewed. **

* * *

Erik say silently in Nadirs car on the ride back to his home. Nadir was not so quiet. Bombarding him with information about his car and asking far too much about his health. Nadir had apparently sorted everything out with the accidents and informed him that there was a new car waiting for him back at his house. Erik had to admit that he was grateful for this help, however he couldn't wait to get out of the car so he could be in his home alone. After a car ride that seemed like it had lasted forever Erik was at last home.

"Make sure you eat and sleep, you need to" Nadir instructed.

"One can survive with much less food and sleep than you do Daroga. Just because you insist on being week doesn't mean I shall follow suit" Erik said in a monotone.

Nadir glared at him "Well goodbye then, I will be visiting you tomorrow"

"If you insist, although I might add it is rude to invite yourself to someone's house" Erik said "Goodbye Daroga" and with that he got out of the car and walked into his house.

Erik's house was large, but not to the extent of a mansion that he didn't need. It's not as if people stayed with him at all. It was an older style which he preferred, he felt that the best architecture was from the past. The focus of the inside was his music room that held his piano, compositions, and other instruments. While he also had all the other rooms of a normal house they were much more sparsely used than his music room. All the light in his home came from artificial light fixtures, he was a fan of chandeliers, and candles, they provided a warmer more natural light that he liked.

Erik headed straight for his music room. He sat down at his piano and sighed. How his live had changed, then reverted so quickly. He finally meet a kind, and beautiful, person who could actually stand to talk to him and now he would never see her again. So he did the only thing he could do, he played. Music was an escape for him and he gladly took it, happy to lose himself to the notes. He played late into the night.

* * *

The next afternoon, after Nadir had dropped Erik off at his house he was getting ready to visit him. Part of Nadir didn't know why he was going, it's not as if Erik appreciated his company anyways, but at the same time he knew that Erik needed him, although he would vehemently disagree.

When Nadir got to Erik's house he was greeted by a very moody Erik.

"Good afternoon Erik, how are you?" Nadir greeted pleasantly.

"I was better before you showed up and invaded by home" Erik grumbled walking into the kitchen. Nadir followed him. "I suppose you'll be wanting tea?" Erik asked. Nadir nodded. Erik set to breeing the tea and once it was ready the two men sat in the living room.

"So" Nadir began "That nurse who brought you out yesterday was pretty... was she the same person talking to you when I visited?" questioned Nadir

Erik pursed his lips "What's it to you Daroga?"

Nadir looked at Erik curiously "She seemed nice, don't you think?" he pushed.

Erik glared "I do not appreciate you meddeling in my business Daroga... and she has a name, not that you would care"

Nadir knit his eyebrows, confused by Erik's new additude "My bad, what is the nurses name Erik?" he asked

"Christine, and she's more than just a nurse Daroga, she has the most beautiful voice, and she was very kind" Erik said with a sigh

"Okay" Nadir replied simply

Erik frowned at him "What is that supposed to mean Daroga?"

"Nothing Erik... although I would say that it seems as if you like Christine" replied Nadir

Erik looked at Nadir coldly "Of course I like her Daroga, who wouldn't, she has a kindness that no other person could ever possess" he said "But I shall never see her again, now that our paths have split" he reflected a dark tone taking over his voice.

Nadir was silent for a moment. He was shocked, he had never seen Erik care about someone before. Nor had he seen many people talk to Erik as Christine had without his mask on. "I'm sorry for bringing it up" he finnaly spoke.

Erik nodded his head in acknowledgement. The rest of the afternoon passed without much conversation. When Nadir left Erik returned to his music room to play into the night.

* * *

The next morning Erik head to the kitchen to make himself some coffee to wake up with. He poured water in the machine only to notice that there was no coffee when he went to scoop it. He cursed angrily. He had two options now, he could go without or he could go outside to get coffee. He decided on the latter.

When Erik got the the coffeehouse it was not very crowded, much to his relief. There was two other people in line and only a couple tables were occupied by other customers. None of then noticed Erik, either too tired or too absorbed in their own lives. He stood silently in line behind the other customers. The man waiting in the front was helped and the line moved forward one. The bell in the back rang to signal another person entering. Erik turned to see who it was and his eyes widened in recognition. It was Christine.

* * *

**End of chapter. Don't worry, I plan on publishing a new one soon. I'm already done with chapter 5 and I'll either publish it later today or tomorrow. Please review, I love to know your thoughts.**


	5. Chapter 5

**As promised here's the next chapter. Thank you to those who reviewed. **

* * *

Christine awoke early after a late shift the night before and decided to go and get some coffee. She still had a while before her next shift so she decided to go out to get some coffee at the coffeehouse nearby. She got dressed donning a sky blue shirt and a pair of jeans. She left her hair down, the style she preferred when she wasn't working. Christine got in her car and started groggily driving to the coffe shop.

Christine was slightly more awake by the time she was at the coffeehouse. When she entered the coffee house she noticed it was mostly empty. She went to stand in the back of the line when she noticed the man in front of her. He was tall and had dark black hair. He was dressed impeccably, but what really caught her attention was the mask covering his face when he turned towards her.

"Erik?" It was the first time she had seen him out of the hospital.

"Christine, it's nice to see you again" he replied in a soft voice.

Christine smiled at him "It's nice seeing you again too, how have you been?"

Erik just shrugged his shoulders "Fine, how have you been?"

"Oh, I've been pretty good, nothing's new really" she replied. The line moved forward and Erik ordered his coffee before stepping aside and letting her order. After she ordered she stood and waited for her coffee by him.

"So do you come here often?" she asked.

"I do sometimes, although mostly I prefer to stay home" he answered "What about you?"

"I come here sometimes, although I do try to save money so I don't come everyday, but I had a late shift last night" she explained. There coffee arrived and Christine paused for a moment. He had frozen for a moment too, and seemed to be in between staying put and walking away. "Hey... do you want to sit together?" she decided to ask somewhat awkwardly.

A surprised look flashed across his face for a second before he replied "That sounds nice"

"Great" she exclaimed and walked over to a near table.

"Do you work late shifts a lot?" questioned Erik.

Christine considered for a moment "Yeah actually I do I suppose, my coworkers really don't like them, and I don't mind so much, and late shifts pay more too"

"Do you like your job?" he asked

"I do, it's not what I always thought I'd be doing, if you had told me when I was a kid that I'd be a nurse I would've argued with you" she laughed. "But I'm happy doing what I do, so what does it matter of its not what I originally thought, life doesn't always turn out that way"

Erik couldn't argue with this, while he still thought that Christine would be amazing of she sung for the world he knew all to well that life didn't always turn out how you expected it to.

* * *

Weeks passed and Erik healed from the accident. He also found himself visiting the coffeehouse more and more. Much more often than he used to, even when he had coffee at home. Sometimes he would bump into Christine and they would talk over coffee.

One afternoon Erik and Christine were having coffee when Christine noticed a flyer on the corkboard.

"Oh look, the theater is having auditions for a chorus" she commented offhandedly. "I used to want to sing there"

"Used to? Why not anymore?" Erik asked.

"Well... I just wouldn't be good enough, I haven't had any training and they are a professional group" Christine answered.

"You would certainly be good enough, you could out sing any of the current members" Erik insisted "You should audition"

Christine's checks flushed slightly "You flatter me. And me audition? They'd laugh me off the stage"

"Nonesnese" Erik argued "You could give more than a respectable performance"

"But I don't even have a piece prepared, and it's in two weeks, and I haven't sung, really sung to practice in forever" she argued "And..." she added "Even if I did get selected, and that's a big if, I would need a voice teacher to keep up with them and I can't afford that"

Suddenly an idea stuck Erik. He could teach her, she had the voice and he had the skill. He could help her prepare and help her rise to center stage. Of course, that's if she would let him. But it was her dream to sing and he could make that come true. "If you had a good teacher, you could be well prepared in two weeks" he countered "And I could teach you" he offered "And you wouldn't have to pay me either"

Christine gaped at him "Oh but I couldn't possibly take advantage of you like that"

"You wouldn't be, to teach a voice as stunning as yours would be payment enough, and I assure you I know music very well, I could help you"

"You really think I could make it, if you helped me?" she asked nervously "You think I'm good enough?"

"Without a doubt" Erik said instantly.

"Okay, only if you are sure" she said "as long as your really okay with it, I wouldn't want to waste your time"

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sure" he said.

They arranged to meet the next day at 10 in the morning, which would give them plenty of time before Christine went to work. Erik told her to bring a few pieces that she might want to audition with. He was smiling when he left the coffeehouse.

* * *

**End of chapter. So some new developments for Christine and Erik, what do you think? Please review and let me know :).**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys I'm back! Sorry for the long delay, I was on spring break and I got distracted.**

* * *

Erik's good mood lasted his entire ride home. But, it all came crashing down when he stepped into his house. It was a mess, things were strewn everywhere and it may areas were covered with dust having not been properly cleaned for far too long. He couldn't let Christine see his house looking like this.

He started with the rooms around the entryway figuring they would be the first she would see. He methodically went through and removed the clutter organizing the things he thought Christine would find appealing into a decorative style and shoving the rest of the mess into unused closets or rooms. He then dug out supplies to dust and went about removing the dust from those areas. He had never had guests before and so never had cause to take care of the rooms that he rarely used. He then moved on to his music room which was much more well kept and required little attention. A little while later Erik ran through a mental list in his head to make sure he wasn't missing anything that needed attention before Christine arrived. By now a few hours had passed so he decided to prepare himself a small dinner before heading to his music room to practice and prepare for Christine's first lesson.

* * *

The next morning Christine woke about an hour before her lesson was scheduled with Erik. She got dressed in a light purple dress and a pair of pearl earrings, her birthstone. She ran a brush through her tangled hair and shaped it with some product before pulling it into a somewhat messy bun. She made herself a quick breakfast of yogurt with fruit and granola before hitting the road with a cup of coffee to go.

Erik's house was about 20 minutes away and she listened to music as she drove often singing along softly to the songs. By the time she pulled into the driveway, she was much more awake. She almost dropped her mouth in awe of the size of the place. It was practically a mansion especially compared to her little apartment. Not that she didn't have all the space she needed, but it was just enough, not overly spacious. She also had to admire the grandiose architecture of the place. She gathered her things, walked up to the beautiful house and rang the doorbell. She only had to wait a few minutes for Erik to answer.

She greeted him with a smile "Erik, your house is amazing!" she exclaimed.

Erik couldn't help but give a small smile in return "Thank you, I only hope you like the inside just as much" he replied before stepping aside and letting her in.

Christine walked in the doorway and surveyed the house. It was very dark, none of the windows were open, but it was very nice and stylish nonetheless. Erik lead Christine to the music room. It was a beautiful room that was the jewel of the house. It has instruments of almost every variety and a gorgeous grand piano. Christine gaped at Erik "Surely you don't play all of these instruments?"

"I do actually" Erik said, pleased that Christine was impressed. He moved over to the piano and sat down. "Do you have the piece you want to audition for ready?" he asked.

Christine moved to stand at the piano beside him "yes, I do"

"Okay let's do some scales to warm up and then we can run through your piece to see where we are at" he said in a professional tone. Christine nodded her consent and Erik played up and down the scales on the piano as she sang along. In addition, he taught her some warm-up and breathing exercises. As they practiced Christine tried not to let herself get nervous about what Erik would think about her piece or if she would be good enough for the audition. When they had finished warming up Christine handed Erik the music piece she picked and took one last nervous breath before she began singing.

_If anyone asks, I'll tell them we both just moved on_

_When people all stare I'll pretend that I don't hear them talk_

_Whenever I'll see you I'll swallow my pride and bite my tongue_

_Pretend I'm okay with it all_

_Act like there's nothing wrong_

_Is it over yet?_

_Can I open my eyes?_

_Is this as hard as it gets?_

_Is this what it feels like to really cry?_

_Cry_

_If anyone asks, I'll tell them we just grew apart_

_What do I care if they believe me or not?_

_Whenever I feel your memory is breaking my heart_

_I'll pretend I'm okay with it all_

_Act like there's nothing wrong_

_Is it over yet?_

_Can I open my eyes?_

_Is this as hard as it gets?_

_Is this what it feels like to really cry?_

_Cry_

_I'm talking in circles_

_I'm lying, they know it_

_Why won't this just all go away?_

_Is it over yet?_

_Can I open my eyes?_

_Is this as hard as it gets?_

_Is this what it feels like to really cry?_

_Cry_

_Cry_

(Song is Cry by Kelly Clarkson)

Erik played as Christine sang but all of his focus was on her singing. Her voice was just as he remembered it. If it were up to him she could go up and audition with no extra training and get a spot. But since it was not, he mentally noted the parts where he could help her improve. When she was finished he was silent for a moment before speaking "That was excellent Christine, you will do amazing"

Christine let out a mental breath of relief "Thank you"

"I give credit when credit's due, now let's break this down and I'll work through it with you piece by piece". For the next hour, they worked through the song. Erik critiquing at every opportunity to ensure perfection. Christine accepted his critiques with pleasure, he clearly knew what he was talking about and she wanted to be the best she could be. He was a tough instructor but she was glad of it, she was grateful he could separate their friendship from their lessons and help her. She hardly noticed the time passing until the end of the hour.

"Thank you so much, Erik, I have to run now, I have work soon, does the same time tomorrow for another lesson work for you?"

Erik nodded " It's my pleasure to help, and yes that works, I'm not a very busy man"

"Perfect, I'll see you then" she said.

* * *

When Christine got home she dressed quickly and grabbed something to eat on the go before heading to work. She was looking forward to this evening when she would have time to relax, she had been too busy lately and was looking forward to an evening of watching friends in her pajamas and eating ice cream.

After her shift, Christine drove to a bistro to meet Meg for dinner. She may be busy, but she loved spending time with her friend almost more than anything else. She and Meg had been best friends since high school and had become closer when Christine's father had died. Christine had moved in with an aunt who cared for her sufficiently but was far from the warmest person. Christine was grief-stricken from her father's death and Meg and her mother provided the warmth she needed to get through her grief. Meg greeted her with an enthusiastic hug, and they sat down at a table outside. The air was warm and nice and a light breeze made it even more pleasant.

"Hey girl, what's new?" Meg chirped

"Well..." Christine began casually "Our local theater is having auditions for the chorus and I'm planning on auditioning"

Meg pulled Christine into another sudden hug "Oh Christine this is great, I'm so happy for you, you'll do great I just know it."

"Thank you, I really hope you are right" Christine responded smiling.

"I am curious though about what made you change your mind, you used to say you couldn't possibly audition without lessons of some sort, and that you couldn't afford them. What changed?" Meg asked.

"I have a friend, and he offered to teach me for free" Christine explained "I denied at first, but he can be very convincing, and it is something I really want so I went with it"

Meg nodded "And who is this musical friend I haven't heard of?"

"His name is Erik, he was a patient but then we ran into each other once he got out of the hospital and we became friends" Christine recounted.

Meg pondered this new information. She was glad this Erik was helping Christine, but she had to wonder what kind of guy would offer music lessons for free without expecting any payment. However, she held her tongue on any doubts he had. Christine could take care of herself, but Meg would be watching out all the same. She would be damned if anyone messed with her friend.

Christine spent the rest of the meal chatting pleasantly with Meg. Meg was the lead dancer at the local theater and they were finishing up a production. Christine loved hearing about Meg's dancing, even if she hadn't achieved her dream yet she was happy that Meg had achieved her own dream. Although as she considered this she realized that, now, thanks to Erik she was one step closer to her own dream.

* * *

**End of chapter. So what do you think? No cliffhanger really this time, but don't worry, there will be more to come XD. Sorry I took so long to update, but now that I'm back to writing the next chapter should come sooner. Please review and feel free to PM me. If you have anything you want to ask or talk about the story or if you just want to talk in general, my inbox is always open. Seriously, I'm going a little crazy with coronavirus so I would love to talk to any of you. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, I'm back with a new chapter, and more on time this time. Thank you all for your reviews. A couple of people have asked about how Christine can manage her schedule with nursing and everything else, and I thought other people might be wondering too. She might be a little busy but she would be able to manage, nurses get paid pretty well so she could support herself on less hours if she needed to. But I also want to say that I'm not trying to diminish how hard nurses work. They are essential to keeping our health care system running on all levels and are even more important in the wake of COVID-19. Although I will also mention that there will be no coronavirus in Christine's world. **

* * *

The time leading up Christine's audition passed in a blur, or at least it seemed that way to her. She continued her lessons with Erik and she felt like she progressed with every lesson. She also enjoyed spending more time with Erik, they had become friends before but this gave them a chance to grow closer. Her schedule was pretty busy at times but she managed fine. She had less free time than she used to but not none, and she liked being more productive.

It was the day before her audition and her and Erik had just had their final lesson before their audition. Christine wanted to do something to thank him.

"Erik I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of your help with getting me ready for my auditions" she said.

"It was my pleasure, Christine" Erik assured her.

"Still, I wouldn't be anywhere close to ready to audition tomorrow if it weren't for you, let me repay you somehow" she implored

"I've told you I don't want any payment, I already have more than enough money, I won't take yours" Erik insisted

Christine raised her hands in mock surrender "Fine, I won't try to give you any money, but at least let me buy you to dinner. I'm off of work today and you're my friend and you've done so much for me, it's the least I can do"

Erik's heart beat a little faster at her offer, he accepted before he even knew what he was saying "Okay Christine, that sounds good"

"Great, I'll pick you up later tonight. I know a great place" she said with a smile.

* * *

It was evening and Erik was pacing nervously up his hallway. He was dressed for dinner and Christine was due to arrive soon. He had on black dress pants and a dark red shirt with a grey tie. He was wearing his white porcelain mask securely on his face. He could not believe he agreed to this. He was sure to make a fool of himself in front of Christine somehow. But how could he refuse her? The doorbell rang, cutting off Erik's thoughts and he hastened to answer it.

He opened the door to a stunning Christine. She was wearing a flowy jade green dress that hugged her body in all the right places. She was wearing a golden chain around her neck with a golden pendant. Her beautiful golden hair was down it flowed beautifully around her face. He wished he could touch it just to see if it felt as beautiful as it looked. He swallowed hard and reminded himself that she was his friend.

"Good evening Christine, you look wonderful" he complimented. Friends would compliment each other, right? and she did look beautiful.

"Erik, you don't look too bad yourself" she returned.

Erik followed Christine out to her car "You really didn't have to do this, you know. I was happy to give you lessons, no payment was necessary"

"I wanted to do this, and besides don't think of it as payment, think of it as a friend thanking a friend" she said.

The car ride to the restaurant was pleasant. Christine played show tunes which she sang along to. He loved the sound of her voice, especially when she sang.

* * *

The restaurant was nice, it was a local place so it wasn't too busy. Christine walked up to the host table.

"Can we have a table for two please" she requested. The host looked at Erik's mask and hesitated before offering them a table. They followed a waitress to a cozy table tucked in a corner.

"Your server will be right with you" the waitress informed them cheerily before walking off.

"So, have you been working on any new compositions recently?" Christine asked

He had been. He had actually written many more compositions since Christine had become his student, inspired and driven by her voice. Although he knew she would not likely sing most of his compositions her couldn't help but write with her in mind, imaging her voice singing his music.

He didn't say all this, instead, all he said was "I have been, my music has been coming along well. Inspiration seems to have hit me". Not untrue, just not the whole truth.

"That's great, I'd love if you'd play some for me sometime" she said earnestly.

"I will, tomorrow after you're audition as a celebration" he promised.

She smiled amusedly "How do you know it will be a celebration, I could do terrible"

"You won't, you will do very well. You are very talented and that will speak for itself at your audition" he assured.

The waitress came and took their drink orders.

"Hey, Christine where's Meg tonight? And who is this fine man?" she asked

"Hey Katie, this is Erik. He's my friend, and my voice instructor". Erik held out his hand nervously and Katie shook it.

"Nice to meet you Erik", she took their drink orders then left them alone.

"I guess you must come here often" Erik commented.

"Yeah, I do. I usually come with Meg, she's my best friend. It's a nice place, not to fancy and not too casual, and I like to support local businesses" she explained "And the food here is really good"

* * *

Erik had to admit the food was amazing, he was not surprised though. Christine had good taste.

"Where would you sing, if you could sing anywhere in the world?" Erik asked.

"Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe New York, or somewhere in Europe, I've never really traveled much. What about you? Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world?"

Erik thought for a moment before answering "I would go back to Paris, it is truly an extraordinary city for art, music, and architecture"

"Back to Paris?" she asked quizzically "You mean you've been there before? Have you been anywhere else amazing that you've been keeping from me?"

"Well, I've been to many of the countries in Europe" he answered. He paused before continuing on "I also have been to many parts of the Middle East when I joined the military" he finally said. "I joined when I was much younger and much more idealistic, I thought that by joining I would return a soldier with respect instead of a deformed freak"

Cristine reached across the table and grabbed his hand. He was shocked by how warm it felt in his. "You're not a freak Erik, your an amazing person. Don't diminish yourself". She squeezed his hand lightly before letting go of it. To Erik, it was much too soon.

Later that night after Christine had brought him home her pondered her words. All his life he had been deemed a freak, or a monster by his mother's words. But with Cristine it was different. She had seen not just his mask, but his marred face, and was still willing to be friends with him. Still willing to touch him. And she treated him like a normal man, which was not something he had experienced often. He composed late into the night, inspiration striking him even stronger than it had before.

* * *

**End of chapter. So, there's the chapter? How'd you like it? What did you think about Erik and Christine's little friend's night out? Did you like the little glance into Erik's past? This chapter turned out a lot differently, and hopefully better, than it originally was in my head. Please review, I love every review I get. Also remember, my inbox is always open so feel free to PM me if you would like to. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, guys. Sorry for making you wait so long, I had a huge paper I was working on. Thank you for all your reviews, they really lift my spirits. **

* * *

Christine awoke the next day at the first ring of her alarm. Immediately her thoughts went to her audition that day and she was instantly nervous. She sat up in bed and turned her alarm off. She pulled herself out of bed and started getting dressed in her scrubs for work. She had the first day of the weekend off yesterday, but today she was working. She had work until three in the afternoon and her audition was at five. She was happy she was going to work if only for the reason that is would distract her from her nerves. She always focused on her patients completely when she was at work.

About an hour later Christine pulled into a parking spot in the parking garage outside the hospital. She took the stairs down and walked over to the hospital. She took the elevator up to her floor and meet her coworkers at the nursing station before beginning working. They chatted about meaningless things for a few minutes before beginning to work.

She checked the patients she was assigned to and went about her work. She allowed all thoughts to float away and dedicated herself to her work for the next hours

* * *

Later that day, around four in the afternoon, Erik began preparing to go to Christine's audition. He wanted to be there to support her. He was not worried about how hse would do, he was not lying when he reassured her that she would do well. He would admit that he was slightly biased, but he knew music, and Christine was extraordinarily gifted and not above working hard. A perfect combination in the world of music. he was dressed and ready to go, he had been for hours, so he decided to leave a little early.

He got there 30 minutes early and decided to use that time to find a concealed spot he could watch the auditions from. He did not like to interact with people and his mask often drew unwanted attention. While he wanted to see Christine, he was sure she would not want to see him and he didn't want to distract her before her audition. He did entertain the possibility of seeing her after the audition. His phone buzzed and he looked down to see a text message from Christine that read "Just getting to auditions, wish me luck!"

"Good luck! Although you don't need it, you will do amazing. Believe in yourself" he wrote back with a smile.

* * *

After texting Erik, Christine began to warm up. She ran through her scale, breathing exercises, and voice exercises that she usually did with Erik before their lessons. She smiled when she saw the text from Erik. It was nice to have someone as skilled as he was believe in her.

Too soon it was time for her auditions and she was standing on stage, next in line listening to her competition. She hardly heard the woman before her finish and didn't notice herself walking onstage and handing the accompanist her music. She took a deep, filling breath and sang. She sang with all the emotion in her heart and as she sang she remembered all her hard work and her lessons. She let her voice soar at all the right parts and she didn't miss one note. She just closed her mind and trusted her gut.

* * *

Erik watched with little interest as the singers before Christine auditioned. None of them were exceptionally talented, many were outright bad singers that made him cringe. Few were genuinely talented, but no one came close to Christine. Finally, it was Christine's turn to sing and she was up on the stage. Erik closed his eyes and let her voice wash over him as she sang. She did amazing. Her voice resounded beautifully in the amphitheater of the theater. He was glad, for she seemed calm and confident. Her voice at the moment sounded better than he had ever heard it and he knew she would get a spot.

* * *

Christine finished singing and she felt the breathlessness of reality settle back on around her. It was over, she did it. She may have not done perfectly, her mind was whirling with hopes and doubts, but either way, she did it.

The judges smiled at her "Thank you, Miss Daaé, we will be in touch". Christine smiled and thanked them, moving off of the stage. She was walking through the onlookers towards the exit when she spotted a familiar face.

A tall, blond man, with handsome hair and clear green eyes, walked towards her. She did a double-take when she saw him, she hadn't seen him in years. Raoul, if she was right and this was him, and she hadn't seen each other in years. They were the best of friends when they were young when both of her parents were still alive and she was happy. His family had a considerable amount of money, but he never acted like a spoiled rich boy. When her mom died they had become very close. They lost contact when Christine and her father moved away, but she had never forgotten him. He had grown from a young boy to a handsome young man.

"Christine?" he asked, his face mirroring her recognition.

"Raoul?!" she exclaimed happily "I can't believe it's you!"

Raoul chuckled merrily "I'm so happy to see you again, you were amazing up there" he complimented

Christine blushed "Thank you"

"So how did you end up here?" Raoul asked "Last I checked you and your dad were moving to Michigan. And now you're in Pennslyvania? How is your father?"

Christine shifted uncomfortably "He passed away years ago" she informed him "I moved here for work, I work at Greenwood General Hospital now. I'm a nurse there"

"I'm so sorry about your father, I wish there was something I could have done. I'm sorry for bringing up old wounds" Raoul said sympathetically.

"It's okay, don't worry about it" Christine waved him off "You couldn't have known, anyways what do you do now?" she asked

"I run the family business" Raoul answered "My father retired and passed it on to me, I'm trying to get it involved in more charity work. My father's built it up so it has more money to do that with now"

"That's great!" Christine exclaimed "That must be really exciting for you" she smiled.

"It is, I'm really happy" Raoul smiled "Hey, I hope I'm not being too forward but can I have your number? I'd really like to get back in touch with you"

Christine smiled and jotted down her number, handing it to him "I would love that" she gave him a friendly hug before they parted ways.

* * *

Erik watched their exchange grimly. He had been heading over to speak to Christine when he came over to talk to her. Cristine's handsome friend who seemed a little too close to Christine in Erik's opinion. Erik didn't hear their conversation but he was seething internally nonetheless. He had taken away Erik's chance to talk to Christine and that was reason enough to resent him in Erik's eyes. Erik headed home, brooding in the silence.

* * *

Later that evening after Christine had eaten dinner she got a text from Raoul "Hey, this is Raoul. This is Christine right?"

Christine texted back "Hey, Raoul. Yes, this is me"

"Great, I wanted to ask you to dinner. If you will accept me tell me when works for you"

Christine smiled at the text. She was working the nightshift tomorrow and the next night. She had a lesson planned with Erik Tuesday and breakfast with Meg tomorrow. "Does Wednesday night work?" she texted back.

"It works perfect! I'll pick you up at 7?" he texted back

"Sounds great" she responded before going to sleep.

* * *

**End of chapter. Soooo... what did you think? What do you think of Raoul, I can guess that some of you are unhappy. What about Christine's audition? I'm sure she did great. And poor Erik didn't get to talk to Christine after :(. Please Reveiw, I always love to hear your thoughts. Also remember, my inbox is always open. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for those of you who reviewed and thank you for everyone's continued support. Here's the next chapter :) Sorry for the delay.**

* * *

"So how did your audition go?" Meg asked excitedly at breakfast the next morning

"I think it went good... I thought I would be super nervous and mess it up, and I was nervous, but I think I still did well. Of course, there were a lot of good singers there, so there's no guarantee I will get a spot" Christine recounted

"Don't sell yourself short, you did great and you know it" Meg assured

"I hope so... Oh! You'll never guess who I saw after the audition!" Christine exclaimed

"Who?" Meg asked curiously

"Raoul, remember I told you about him once. We were best friends as kids before Dad and I moved away" Christine blushed slightly

Meg noticed Christine's cheeks turning pink. She raised her eyebrows at Christine "Soooo... what happened? Did he talk to you?"

Christine nodded "He runs his fathers' business now, he says he is trying to do charity work with the money. And we exchanged numbers, and he asked me out! We are going out Wednesday night!" Christine related excitedly

"Christine Daaé! I'm disappointed, I thought we were friends, how could you have not told me about this right away" Meg scolded humorously

"I did" Christine protested, "It only happened last night and I'm telling you now"

"I'm just messing with you, and you know it" teased Meg.

"I know" Christine assured her and they passed the rest of the morning in happy conversation.

* * *

Nadir came and visited Erik that same day, only to find that he was in a more sour mood than usual. Of course, he never expected Erik to be in a good mood but there were times when he was especially bitter, and today was one of them. Before today, Erik's mood had been better in general. Ever since he took on his student, he seemed much happier. Of course, he hardly ever showed it but there was a definite upswing in his mood.

"How did Miss Daaé's audition go" Nadir asked

"I wouldn't know... we have a lesson tomorrow. I'll be sure to fill you in first thing." Erik replied coldly

This surprised Nadir for he was sure, knowing Erik, that he would have gone to the audition "You didn't talk to her after the audition yesterday? Or didn't you go?" asked Nadir, confused.

"I don't see how that is any of your business Daroga" Erik responded shortly

Over the course of the next hour, Nair tried to get more out of Erik over tea but he remained unrelenting. He was not too discouraged, however, he knew Erik would tell him when he was ready to. Nadir was often the recipient of Erik's problems when they became too much for him to internalize. So, he left Erik's house confused and concerned about his friend's behavior.

* * *

Later that night Erik reflected on the events of the audition. True, he was angry at the boy for taking away Christine's time from him after the audition but he was coming to realize that he only had himself to blame. He was the one who allowed himself to get close to someone, knowing what he was. That was what had really caused all this because if he had just been Christine's teacher like he said he would be from the start, none of this would have happened.

Erik opened the door to the closet where he kept a mirror. He tore his mask off and forced himself to look at his hideous reflection. This is what he was. He had allowed himself to forget that in Christine's presence, but no longer. He promised himself that. Somehow he thought if he closed himself off it would hurt less when she decided she never wanted to see him again. Because surely there had to be an end to all this. She would leave for bigger and better things.

* * *

The next day Erik opened the door to a smiling Christine "Hey Erik, how are you?" she greeted pleasantly

"I've been fine, how was your audition?" he asked

"It went good... I think, I actually ran into an old friend there" she said, a slight blush coloring her face

"Oh?" Erik responded, trying to sound uninterested before he changed the subject "We should get to work, we will just work on some of the music we already have that's not you're audition for now. Until you get accepted and have music from the choir to practice, unless you have any personal pieces in mind?"

Christin frowned at the sudden change of subject, she and Erik usually talked a little before they started lessons "Um, no I don't have anything in mind, I was too focused on auditions to think about beyond them"

"That is no problem, I have several pieces that would be good practice for you" Erik replied as they moved into his music room. They ran through their usual warm-up exercises before moving into the new pieces. About an hour later, the lesson was over when Christine's phone started ringing, it was a number that wasn't in her phone but she answered anyway, figuring it might be about the audition.

"Hello, is this Christine Daaé?" the voice on the other end asked

"Yes, this is she" Christine responded nervously

"We are calling in reference to you're audition Sunday, and we wanted to know if you would be interested in joining our chorus?" the voice said

"Oh, yes! Definitely, I would love that!" Christine exclaimed

"Perfect, we will send you an email with the details"

"That sounds great, thank you" Christine said, smiling.

"Yes, well thank you, Miss Daaé," the speaker said before hanging up.

"I got it!" Christine exclaimed to Erik, practically jumping with excitement

"That's amazing, I always knew you could do it" Erik smiled

"This is all thanks to you" Christine insisted "I would never have gotten hear without your help"

"You always had what it takes, I hardly helped at all" Erik argued

Christine shook her head "I would never have done this without you, I can't thank you enough" and with that, she wrapped her arms around him to hug him.

Erik started, shocked at the top of her head and the feeling of her arms around him. The logical voice inside of him told him that he should protest, that he was leading himself to pain and disappointment. But a much larger part of him didn't care about later, and only focused on the pleasant feeling in his chest.

* * *

Christine woke late the next morning, after a refreshing sleep. She had a shorter shift at work and she was happy that she would have some time to relax before her date that evening. It was around six in the evening when she started getting ready for her date. She showered and blow-dried her hair before brushing it and letting it hang around her shoulders. She applied some make-up, although not excessively. She rarely wore any, she didn't see the reason to at work or with Meg, but this was a special occasion.

She flipped through her clothes, anxiously looking for something she wanted to wear. She decided on a simple blue dress, that flowed out near the bottom. She fastened a string of pearl necklace, one of the pieces she had left from her mother, around her neck. She was ready, and Raoul was due to arrive in 10 minutes.

Right as the clock ticked to seven, Christine heard a knock on the door. She smiled at Raoul's punctual arrival. She answered the door and smiled brilliantly at her "You look beautiful, Christine"

Christine blushed and walked out the door with him "Thank you, you look very nice as well" she returned. He did look dashing, he wore black formal pants with a nice sweater. He escorted her to his car opening the passenger door for her. He drove, and when they parked Christine noticed the restaurant he chose. It was a very nice place, one she had never been to for concern over its price.

Christine had a very nice dinner with Raoul. The food was amazing, but she also enjoyed her company. She felt like they had talked all night, so much had happened to both of them since they had parted. She was amazed to find that Raoul could be both her childhood friend and her charming date. She told him about how she came to be a nurse, about Erik and her audition, and how excited she was to be accepted. He seemed genuinely happy for her, and he told her about his family business and how happy he was to be through school and be working it now. She felt like no time at all had passed since they had been friends.

After dinner, Raoul drove her home and walked her up to her apartment "I had a really great time tonight" he said when the reached her door.

"So did I" Christine smiled "Thank you for dinner"

"It was my pleasure" Raoul assured her, leaning slightly closer to her "Maybe we can do this again sometime"

She nodded, suddenly noticing how close they were to each other "I would like that"

And then, he leaned down and closed the gap between them, kissing her softly on the lips. She kissed him back, lightly, and when he pulled away they were both blushing.

"Goodnight Christine" Raoul said before walking away, back to his car.

Christine opened the door to her apartment and went inside. She felt a strange mixture of feelings as undressed from the evening and got ready for bed. She had enjoyed the evening and was smiling to herself as she moved around her bedroom. She thought about Raoul and his kiss, it had felt nice, but beyond that, she didn't know what to feel. She felt both happy and confused as she fell asleep that night. Although what she was confused about, she didn't know.

* * *

**End of Chapter. So what do you think? I know some of you are unhappy with Raoul's place in the story, and who doesn't just want Christine and Erik to be happy together. Especially poor Erik, who I think we can all agree needs some happiness in his life. Anyway, I won't give anything away but I promise I have a plan. Please review, it really helps by self-doubt that I'm doing a terrible job. Also, I can take constructive criticism, if that's what you have in mind. I love to hear your thought's either way. Also any questions you have about the story. Please leave a review or PM me. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you all for your lovely reviews, it makes me so happy to read every one of them. So this chapter will clear a few things up about Christine's new position in the chorus, I realize I was kind of vague before, and that's partly because I was still deciding what it would be like for Christine. Also, I have been editing some of my earlier chapters. I'm not making any major changes, just making the writing better and fixing grammatical mistakes, if I catch them. Anyways, it's not important to the story, but I thought you all should know. I've only done this with the first two chapters so far. Anyway, on with the next chapter. **

* * *

Christine could not believe how much her life had changed in the last months. She was finally singing again, and not just by herself but for a real chorus that would perform for people. She had rehearsals twice a week, on the weekends. She was happy that her rehearsal schedule wouldn't t be a problem with her work- even when she did work on the weekends it was in the evening, and rehearsals would be in the afternoon. She had been on pins and needles that week leading up to rehearsals. Nervous thoughts had run through her mind. Would she really be any good? Especially compared to the much more experienced talent. Or what if she messed something important up and made a fool of herself. She wished that the dancers and the singers practiced together so that Meg would be there.

Before she knew it, Saturday came and Christine found herself getting ready for rehearsal. She dressed in a simple pair of blue jeans and a rose gold colored shirt. She clasped her mother's locket around her neck before leaving the house to drive to the theater. It was a short drive from her apartment and she soon pulled into the parking lot in front of the theater. She walked through the theater's doors and towards the throng of people on the stage.

Christine stood silently amongst the other singers for a few minutes before the director called rehearsals to a start. "Now as you all know we held auditions to join this chorus last weekend, out of those who auditioned there were three who joined us" he ushered Christine and two other girls to the front "This is Christine, Cecilia, and Judie" he introduced "They will be part of our chorus, and they will have the same opportunities to audition for solos before the concert as you all do. Now, as you know our next concert is going to be the Winter concert, and that's only a few months away so we need to get to work."

Rehearsals started with simple warm-up exercises that Christine was familiar with from her lessons with Erik. After warming up they moved to start the music that they were going to sing at the concert, booklets of music were passed to each of them. They practiced singing the pieces, bit by bit, without the music that would usually accompany them. Singing with the group in that way was a new experience for Christine, she was used to singing by herself. That's how she had always sung when practicing. It was a new challenge to allow her voice to blend in naturally with the whole.

Halfway through practice, they were given a short break to rest their voices and get water. She sipped from her water bottle and talked with Cecilia and Judie. Christine enjoyed talking to them, and it was nice to talk to someone she could relate to in the new group. There break was short, and they soon returned to singing. The time passed quickly as she sang. By the time rehearsals were over Christine realized she had been worried about nothing. What was there to worry about when doing what she loved.

* * *

Christine and Erik sat at a cafe, near the theater, each with a cup of coffee. They had decided to meet before her next rehearsal and Christine was excited at the chance to talk with him. He had not been very talkative at their last lesson.

"How was your first rehearsal?" Erik asked

"It was really good, actually. I was nervous I would do terribly, but it went very well. Our first concert is in December, and we just got the music for it yesterday. Now that I have it we can look over it for our lessons. And two other girls joined the chorus with me. Cecilia and Judie, it was nice to talk to someone who was also new" Christine recounted. "Although it is new to sing with others professionally, I've always practiced singing alone".

"You'll adjust" Erik promised "You are a fast learner, and you won't have to worry about it for long anyway. Soon you will be singing solos and have your own songs"

Christine gave him a skeptical look "I doubt it will be soon, surely I will need more experience before I am good enough for that"

Erik shook his head "You are far too modest for your own good, you just need to have faith in yourself and you will get there, trust me"

Christine smiled at this "Well... I guess you were right before about me getting into the chorus, so maybe you will also be right about this". His confidence in her meant the world to Christine. He was incredibly talented and knew a ton about music, not to mention one of her closest friends. She really valued his opinion.

"I am," Erik said confidently "Now for our next lesson does Tuesday work for you? I know you work late on Monday"

Christine hesitated for a moment "Actually, I'm busy Tuesday night. Does Thursday work for you?"

Erik frowned slightly "Yes, anytime is good for me. What, if I may ask, do you have planned for Tuesday?" He hoped she would say she was hanging out with Meg, but he had a bitter guess that that was not the case. That she would be spending the evening with her handsome, young admirer that he had seen her talking to at her audition. Perhaps it would have been better for him not to ask, for he knew he would be unhappy with the answer. But that did not stop him from doing so.

"Oh, well I have a date" Christine admitted nervously. She felt strange talking of Raoul with Erik.

Erik feigned surprise and fought to keep a calm tone to his voice "Really? With whom?"

"His name is Raoul, we were friends as kids. We lost contact and I saw him again at my audition" Christine explained

Raoul. Erik turned the name over in his head. He hated it. The name of the young boy who had caught Christine's attention "Why did you not speak for so long?"

"Well, we were kids when we meet. I was only about eight years old then. We didn't exactly have our own phones, and dad and I moved around a lot then, so we just weren't able to stay in touch" Christine explained.

"Well, I hope you have a nice date" he lied

"Thank you," Christine said before changing the subject. She would much rather discuss something else with him, like different styles of music and composers than Raoul. It was easy to fall into a conversation with him about the nuances of classical music. She loved these conversations with him. Meg was always too peppy and in the moment to enjoy such conversation. Raoul had listened politely enough at dinner the other night, by neither of the two really cared. But Erik did, and his eyes held the same passion for it that she held in her heart.

* * *

"I was thinking we could try something new today," Erik said halfway through their next lesson.

"That sounds good, what do you have in mind," Christine asked

"Duets. It is a good skill to have, and it will help you get used to singing with others" Erik told her "I have one picked out that will be good, unless you have one you would rather do?"

"No, yours will be good," she said

"Very well, here is the music," Erik said handing her the music "Now, remember the most important part of singing is always your emotion. You need to convince those listening that you are really feeling what you are singing. Since you are also sight-reading this that is going to be especially important"

Christine nodded understanding, scanning the music in front of her.

Erik stood from the piano "You start, so whenever you are ready"

Christine straightened her posture, took a deep breath and started singing

_What if I never knew_

_What if I never found you_

_I'd never have this feeling in my heart_

She sang.

_How did this come to be_

_I don't know how you found me_

_But from the moment I saw you_

_Deep inside my heart, I knew_

Erik sang beautifully, his rich voice flowed perfectly with the music, and Christine felt she could lose herself in it. Suddenly it was her turn to come in and she almost missed her entrance.

_Baby, you're my destiny_

_You and I were meant to be_

they sang, together this time. Erik had been hesitant at first, he wanted to avoid choosing a love song, but almost all of the duets he looked at were love songs. He has reasoned that it would be best for Christine to practice the type of duet she would most likely sing.

_With all my heart and soul_

he sang

_I give my love to have and hold_

Christine sang before their voices joined together again

_And as far as I can see_

_You were always meant to be my destiny_

Erik sang next, and it was easy to put emotion in his words

_I wanted someone like you_

_Someone that I could hold on to_

_And give my love until the end of time_

Christine sang next and she allowed herself to get pulled into the power of the music

_But forever was just a word, just a word_

_Something I'd only heard about_

_But now your always there for me_

_When you say forever I'll believe_

Christine sang

_And as far as I can see_

they sang together

_You were always meant to be_

Erik sang

_my destiny _

They finished the verse together. That much, Erik knew was true. Christine was his destiny, however, he knew there was no way he was hers.

_Maybe all we need is just a little faith_

_Cause baby, I believe_

Their voices continue together

_that love will find a way_

Erik sang

_Baby, you're my destiny_

_You and I were meant to be_

They sang together

_With all my heart and soul_

Erik sang

_I give my love to have and hold_

Christine sang. Erik wished her truly did have her love, she had his. He loved her, he realized as they sang. How had he not known before, it was so clear. He knew he loved her just as he knew that the sky was blue and the grass was green.

_And as far as I can see_

They sang together

_From now until eternity_

Christine sang

_You were always meant to be_

Erik sang

_my destiny._

Christine finished the verse

_You're my destiny. _

( Song is Destiny. The duet is Jim Brickmen and Christina Aguilera)

Erik finished the song. He cleared his throat and regained his composure "That was really good, you sang beautifully"

"Thank you," Christine said, coming back down to Earth. She had felt weightless when she was singing with Erik "I've never heard you sing before, you are amazing. You should be the star, not me" Although amazing didn't even begin to encompass how Erik sounded

Erik shook his head "I thank you for the compliment, but that would be impossible" he said gesturing towards his mask.

Christine wanted to argue that he at least could still record if he wanted to. But she didn't want to make him upset. His mask was an issue he was clearly sensitive about. Before she could decide to say something or not Erik continued their lesson.

When Christine left after her lesson Erik's mind and heart were still filled with his love for her. He threw himself into his compositions and tried not to think about how she could never love him.

* * *

**End of chapter. So how did you like it? What do you think of Christine's rehearsal? I was stumped on what sort of stuff I would have her group sing and lks358 gave me the idea to do it sort of like a concert, where the chorus sang songs and there were solos. She actually gave me several ideas but I decided on that one. So a big thank her that I am publishing this today and not a week later after obsessing over what I should do. Any questions you have about the story that I haven't made clear please feel free to PM me. Also I didn't write Christine's date with Raoul, but it did happen. If you want to read that please PM me and I can write that and send it to you, if anyone is interested. Please review, it makes me so happy to read your thoughts. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, I'm so sorry for the long wait. My computer broke for a while and I've also been stuggling to find the inspiration to write. I've also been busy, I recently got a job babysitting all day on weekdays and the kids are both young and a handful. Before I start I just want take a moment to remember George Flyod and all lives lost to police brutality. Thank you so much for all your kind reveiws and for everyone who is continuing reading this story. I have not edited anymore of my early work on this story, all my efforts have gone to writing this chapter. Anyway, without further ado heres the next chapter. **

* * *

It was the Monday before Thanksgiving. Meg would spend the holiday with her mother, who lived about 3 hours away from where Meg and Christine lived. Christine, however, couldn't find the time to get away. Between work and chorus practice she was too busy. But it was a good kind of busy and Christine was happy.

She was currently standing by the turkeys in Publix, her car filled with Thanksgiving goods. She always loved cooking, and Thanksgiving was one of her favorite holidays growing up. She was excited to finnaly have a reason to cook the annual feast. Cecilia and Judie also weren't going home for Thanksgiving, and they had agreed to come over. Raoul would also be there, he had jumped at the opportunity to spend the holiday with her. Erik would not. Christine had invited him but he , unsurprisingly, declined. He never really liked being around people. To be honest, Christine was glad he wouldn't be there. She enjoyed his company, but she couldn't imagine him and Raoul getting along. Maybe she was crazy to think that, but she was happy that her boyfriend and her bestfriend wouldn't have to opportunity to fight. Boyfriend. It still felt a little strange to call Raoul that. They had been going out for two weeks when Raoul had asked her to be his girlfriend. She had said yes, but even now, almost a month after they had made it official, it all felt so new to her. She never dated much in high school or college for various reasons and being committed to someone in this way. Christine settled on a turkey before making her way to checkout.

* * *

Christine started on the turkey when she woke up in the morning. She had the day off of work for Thanksgiving. She had already made the pie the night before, and now it was time to focus on the turkey. She preheated the oven while she washed and prepared the turky, stuffing it full of stuffing before putting it in the oven. While the turkey was in the oven Christine made the cranberry sauce and dough for the biscuits. Everything else would have to wait until closer to dinner. By the time she finished all this it was about time for Raoul , Cecilia, and Judie to come over. They were all going to watch the parade together.

About ten minutes before she was expecting everyone the doorbell rang and Christine opened the door to find Raoul on the other side.

He greeted her with a friendly smile and a quick kiss on the lips "Hey, I thought I'd here a little early so I could catch some time with just you"

Christine smiled at this and embraced Raoul "So you came early just because?" she questioned

"Partly, I do enjoy your company" Raoul said good naturedly "But I also wanted to ask you something, my parents are in town and I want you to meet then this weekend... they already like you."

Christine almost laughed at this. Raoul's parents didn't like her. They always seemed to view her family as lower than them. Raoul may not have inherited that view, but that didn't change his parents. But she cared about Raoul, and she could tell this was important to him so she agreed "Sure, that sounds lovely" she said with a false smile. Raoul grinned at her and leaned in to kiss her.

It was that moment that a knock sounded on the door. Christine pulled away and opened the door to let Cecilia and Judie in. Christine greeted them with a hug "Hey, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm so glad you could make it"

"Me too!" said Judie "It's nice to be able to have a Thanksgiving dinner, even if I can't go home"

Cecilia nodded in agreement "And is this your boyfriend you've told us about" she asked, admiring Raoul.

"Yes, he is" confirmed Christine "This is Raoul. and Raoul, this is Cecilia and and Judie. They are my friends from the choir" she introduced.

"It's nice to meet you both" Roul greeted politely.

The four of them sat down to watch the parade. After the parade ended they chatted while playing various card games. About an hour before the turkey was ready Christine retreated to the kitchin for the wild hour of meal prep that awaited her to get a feast on the table.

When they finally all sat down to dinner Christine was exhausted but content with her work. Everyone served themselves heaps of food and dug in. Everyone complemented the food and Christine felt a strange feeling of nostalgia settle over her. The entire meal was just like the Thanksgiving she used to have with her parents. She never thought she would be cooking it by herself this soon. Part of her felt a longing in her heart for her Mom and Dad. Part of her wished that her Dad had cooked the food she was eating. But a bigger part of her savored this connection with her parents that she had been able to maintain, even if they weren't able to share it with her.

* * *

That weekend Christine sat in Raoul's car on the way to meet his parents. She was looking out the was anxiously smoothing out her dress. She didn't know why she was anxious, she already knew his parents didn't like her. It wasn't like she had to worry about that. But still, she knew what she was signing up for when she agreed to lunch. It was hard not to be a little unsettled at the prospect of spending and afternoon with two people who constantly belittled her. Christine didn't even notice when the car came to a park on front of the restaurant. She just stayed zoned out, staring out the window. Raoul chuckled and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, bringing her back to Earth "Relax, they love you". Chistine wondered briefly if he actually thought that or if he was just lying to her because he thought it was best to. She gave him a weak smile before getting out of the car and heading into the restaurant with him.

Raoul's parents stood as the approached the table "Hey mom, hey day" Raoul grinned when he saw them before going over to hug them. "I'm so glad you were able to see Christine"

"Hello, Christine. It's a pleasure to see you" Raoul's mother nodded at her, sitting back down "How have you been?"

"I've been good" Christine told her "I'm really happy that I ran into Raoul again the other day"

"Yes, it truly is a pleasure to have you back in our lives" Raoul's mother said "What is it that you do again? Are you still into that performing dream you had? To be a singer? You do know dear, that isn't very profitable"

Christine stifined at this but responded with a pasive smile "I do still sing, yes. I'm in the local chorus. But as for how I make a living, I'm a nurse."

"Oh that wonderful. I'm glad you are able to make a respectable living while maintaining your hobbies" Raoul's mother said "You wouldn't want to be one of those women who relied on her husband for financial support". With this comment she subtlety glanced between her and Raoul, a suggestive accusation in her eyes.

"Christine's a really great singer, actually. She's the best out there" Raoul told his parents, a hint of pride in his voice "Her chorus is having a concert in December, you guys should try and come. You'll be blown away" he promised.

Please say no, please say no, please say no Christine silently prayed. "I don't think so honey" Raoul's mother said apologetically "That's not far from now and it tough to travel so much"

Christine breathed a sigh of relief. She was already anxious enough about this concert without that added pressure. The rest of the lunch passed in a similar fasion. Raoul's mother would find suble passive aggressive ways to insult Christine and Raoul would talk her up weather it was in an effort to get his mother to like her or because he genuinely felt that strongly about her Christine was still not completely certain. Raoul's father was mostly silent, as usual. Christine couldn't really form an honest opinion on him. She assumed he was like his wife, but he never said much to prove her right on that front. The lunch only lasted about an hour, but to Christine it felt like forever. As she left the restaurant with Raoul she tried to imagine doing this for the rest of her life, going through these motions every so often. She couldn't.

* * *

**End of chapter. So, what do you think? I feel like this is not my strongest chapter, and I apologize. But I don't know if that's just me, or if that's actually true. The next chapter should be better, and sooner, now that I finnaly finished this one. I promise you will see more Erik next chapter. After last chapter's dramatic revelation, I'm sorry I left you hanging in that department. I wanted to develop her other relationships more, especially her relationship with Raoul. Question: how would you like to have a preview for the next chapter at the end of each chapter. Like not giving anything away, but just a little hint. Like they'll give for TV shows sometimes. Let me know in the reviews, or PM me. Please review! I always love to read reviews. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello everyone and welcome back. Thank you for your reviews and for everyone who is loyally reading this story. Your support means the word to me. I'm happy to be publishing this chapter much sooner than the last one. I always mean to do weekly updates and I'm happy to be able do that this time. Now, on with the story.**

* * *

It was December and Christine's concert was in less than a month. Both lessons with Erik and chorus practice seemed more tense and focused to Christine.

The actual chorus was really shaping up to sound good. The group's sound was harmonious and all the songs they used to struggle with came easily to them. The only part Christine was unsure about was how she would fit it. She had attended concerts for this chorus and she knew they were good. If anything went wrong, it would be easy to know who to blame.

Lessons with Erik became even more important to Christine, if that was possible. Not only did she need his expertise, but he also had the unique ability to both improve her skill and make her feel like she would do perfectly. Despite Meg's, Judie's, Cecilia's, and Raoul's assurances, she trusted Erik's opinion more, and his faith in her made her have faith in herself.

Christine pulled her coat on and began buttoning it up "So, I'm leaving next Friday, the 22nd, to spend Christmas with Meg and her family, so does Thursday work for lessons?" she asked "I want to practice with you one more time before I go off by myself. Plus when I get back we'll only have a couple of days until the concert"

Erik didn't hesitate before agreeing. He would see her everyday if he could. "Of course, and don't worry. You are a strong enough singer to do well practicing on your own. Just don't get in your head"

Christine smiled at him "Thank you" she said, draping her scarf casually over her shoulder before tucking it under her hair "You're an amazing friend. I don't know what I would do without you" she wrapped her arms around him for a quick hug before heading out into the cold. Erik stood at the window, watching her walk away.

* * *

The shops were bustling with people, all busy buying presents for their loved ones and friends. Christine was in the middle of this all. She needed to find a good gift for Raoul, they had agreed to exchange gifts tomorrow and she hadn't gotten anything for him yet. As she browsed through the men's section of the store, looking for something for Raoul a sweater caught her eye and she thought of Erik. She was planning on getting him something, but she hadn't known what. He could be closed off and she didn't know what he would like. It was a nice sweater, forest green. It had some color, but not too much . He usually just wore black, but Christine thought this would look good on him. Plus it went with his eyes. She grabbed the sweater and put it in her cart

After getting the sweater for Erik, Christine ended up at the wallets. She found a nice one and got it for Raoul. He had been saying that his wallet was getting old, so she thought he would like it. She checked out with the two items in her cart, satisfied with her choices.

When Christine got home she laid out all her gifts to wrap. She had already purchased Meg's and Miss Giry's gifts. She wrapped her presents neatly and labeled them so she would remember which was which.

* * *

The next day Christine headed over to Raoul's apartment to exchange gifts. His place was considerably nicer than hers, a fact that Christine tried not to let make her insecure. Raoul greeted her at the door with a kiss on the lips that quickly deepened and turned into more. After a minute of this Christine pushed him away before it could get too heated, Raoul had hinted at "taking their relationship to the next level", as he put it. But Christine just wasn't ready for that yet.

"Merry Christmas, well early Christmas" she said, taking her scarf and coat off.

Raoul smiled at her and took her coat "Merry Christmas to you too, it sucks that we won't be able to see each other on the actual day, but this is a good substitute". Raoul was visiting his family for Christmas .

They moved to sit on the couch to exchange gifts. Christine handed him her gift first "I know it's not fancy, but you said you wanted a new one and I thought you would like this one" she explained as he opened it.

He smiled when he saw it and gave her a quick hug "Its great, I love it. Thank you Christine"

She smiled back at him "I'm glad you like it". Then, he handed her her present. It was a thin black box. Christine opened it to reveal a beautiful necklace with a diamond pendant "Oh, wow, it's beautiful Raoul. You shouldn't have"

"Nonsense" Raoul dismissed, pick the necklace and unclasping it "You deserve the best, now turn around, I want to see it on you". Christine obeyed and lifted her hair off of her neck. After he clasped the necklace on her neck she turned around. Raoul grinned at her "Now, you look even more beautiful

"Thank you so much" Christine said.

"Now, do you have time for a movie? Because I say we watch A Wonderful Life, you do still love that movie right?" Raoul suggested

Christine laughed at his spirit, she didn't always see this side of him "That sounds wonderful" she said leaning against him and cuddling under a blanket.

* * *

Erik had debated for a long time before getting Christine a Christmas present. He never usually celebrated the holiday, but he was aware that it was coming up. One on hand, he loved Christine and he wanted to make her happy. But would she be happy receiving a gift from him? Especially when she already had a boyfriend, as much as he loathed that fact. In the end, he couldn't not get her a gift, and browsed the internet for hours before finding the perfect gift and ordering it. It was a bracelet with "Where words fail, music speaks" engraved in it. He was sure she would love it. I had wrapped it carefully and was now turning the package around in his hands, waiting for Christine to arrive for lessons.

The doorbell rang and Erik promptly got up, placed the gift in his pocket, and let Christine it. She was as beautiful as ever and the cold tinted her cheeks a rosy color. He thanked God she couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating "Christine, come in" he invited. She greeted him warmly and they started their lesson. He would give her her gift after there lesson... probably.

After an intense lesson Christine moved toward the living area of Erik's house, but didn't leave right away. "Before I go, I wanted to give you your Christmas gift" she said. "I know you aren't much into the holiday, but I wanted to get you something. I hope that's okay?"

Erik couldn't believe what he was hearing. Never in a million years would he imagine someone would get him, of all people, a gift. Nadir never had, probably because of Erik's constant efforts to push him away. Not even his own mother had bothered. Erik nodded, gathering his voice "Of course, it's more than okay that you get me a gift." Christine smiled and went to retrieve her gift for him from her purse. "I got you something too" Erik added.

Christine's smile was radiant and Erik knew he made the right decision to get her a gift. After all they _were _friends. "Thank you, here you open yours first" she offered.

Erik took the soft package in his hands and carefully unwrapped it to reveal what was inside. He almost didn't care... it could be a pile of trash and he would just be happy that it was from Christine. When he saw what was inside, he drew in a breathe. It was a simple, but nice green sweater. He never expected something so nice, and the fact that Christine had gotten it for him made it all the better. Christine was saying something about how it wasn't much and she hoped he liked it, but he hardly heard her.

"I love it" he said horsley.

This seemed to calm Christine down and she smiled "Really? I thought you would like it, but I wasn't sure"

"Just the fact that you got me a gift at all is enough" he assured her, figuring the fabric of the sweater "You know, you are the first person to ever think to get me a gift"

This made Christine freeze. Surely he couldn't be serious. She hadn't hesitated before getting a gift for him, surely someone else would have gotten him a gift at some point in his life.

At Christine's confused look Erik explained further "As you know, I don't have many friends. I never have. The only person besides you who really tolerates me is Nadir. And we aren't close in that way."

Christine took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently "I don't tolerate you Erik, I like you. We're friends." "Well what about when you were a kid" she asked "Didn't your parents ever celebrate your Birthday or Christmas?"

Erik shook his head "My father died before I was born and my mother never really cared much for me" he gestured at his masked face "I'm sure you can guess why, she wouldn't get me a gift for Christmas and my birthday wasn't exactly cause to celebrate for her"

Christine frowned "That's awful of her, she should have treated you that way. And you know, I really don't care if you wear a mask or not. If you want to, that's fine. But don't feal like you have to around me. But you do have to tell me when your birthday is now so I can get you a present"

Erik laughed "You really shouldn't waste your time on me. And I think I will spare you the horror". He was so glad she did though, even if he didn't deserve it.

Christine was glaring at him now "Don't you say that, I like spending time with you. And I am not horrified of your face, because it's not horrifying. It's just another face".

Erik raised his eyebrows "I still think you are crazy to think that, and I think I'll leave the mask on." Her hand was warm in his.

Christine shrugged her shoulders casually. "Its up to you". She wanted him to feel comfortable, and if that went wearing his mask she accepted that.

"Now" she said, drawing her hand from his gently "You said you had a gift for me"

Erik mourned the loss of her hand in his but nodded his head and fumbled for her gift "Yes, I do. Here it is, it's not much but I hope you like it

Christine took the gift from him and opened it. The bracelet inside the box was beautiful and simple. She read the inscription on it, it was perfect. She smiled at Erik "I love it, you know me so well. Its perfect"

Erik let out a breath he hardly realized he had been holding. "I'm glad you like it"

"You have good taste. Here" she handed him the bracelet and stuck out her wrist "Can you put it on for me?"

Erik took the bracelet and unclasped it "Of course I can". He cradled her small wrist in his hand as he attempted to clasp the bracelet on her. Her proximity made in hard for him to focus and it took him a few attempts before he finally redid the clasp.

"Thank you" Christine said peppily. She drew him into a tight hug before leaving. It wasn't until she had driven halfway home that Christine realized that Erik had never actually told her when his birthday was.

Erik sat on the couch holding Christine's sweater for a long time after she left. She had left this piece of her, for him to keep. And he would treasure her gift forever.

* * *

The next day Christine and Meg drove down to Meg's Mom's house for Christmas. The had decided to head over today so the could spend the weekend together before the holiday.

"So, do you think you are ready for the concert next week?" Meg asked over the low volume of the music.

"I don't know" Christine said. "On one hand, I know I am ready. But on the other hand, I still feel like I am going to mess up. I mean, I'm new to the chorus and this is their first concert I'm going to be a part of. I feel like I'm going to mess it all up"

"I know how you feel, I was super nervous the first time I danced in front of people, and worried I would mess up the choreography and mess everyone else up.

I was fine, and you will be to. You just need to focus on how you know you are ready, and not let your doubts take over" Meg reassured.

"Yeah, you are right. I'll just be happy after opening night, then I won't have to worry anymore". They spent the rest of the car ride chatting and singing along to the music.

When they got to Miss Giry's house she welcomed them with a warm greeting "Hey girls, I'm so glad you could come down" she said, sweeping them into a hug. "We missed you for Thanksgiving, Christine"

"I missed you too, I just couldn't get away from work and rehearsal, Did Meg tell you that I joined to local chorus. We have a concert the Friday after Christmas, it's the 29th" Christine explained.

"She did, and I am so proud of you sweetheart. I always knew you had the talent, and I'm glad you are finally sharing that with the world. You'll do great. Now what else is new with you, Meg tells me you also have a handsome young boyfriend?"

Christine smiled at her assured confidence in her, Miss Giry had always been supportive of her singing and it was nice to have her support now. Christine sat down and started filling Miss Giry in on the new events of her life. It was the closest thing she had to a parent to talk to.

* * *

Miss Giry ensured that Christine and Meg were full of food for the entirety of the weekend. Christine keep practicing her music. She knew she has to stay sharp, even if she didn't have the chorus director or Erik to help her. She went through her normal warm up exercises, before focusing on the numerous notes scrawled around her music. Christine had also had a lot of fun with Meg and her mom that weekend. It had snowed Friday night so there was fresh snow for them to enjoy outside. When she didn't have to worry about driving anywhere that day, the snow was a beautiful sight. They had also made Christmas cookies, another one of Christine's favorite holiday pastimes. Now, the three of them were curled up on the couch tucked under blankets, settling down for a Christmas movie. Tomorrow it would be Christmas.

It was Christmas morning and Christine woke to Meg shaking her shoulder "Christine, come on, get up. Mom's already up and I want to open presents" she whisper-spoke.

Christine groaned and stretched out in bed "Okay, just give me a second" she said sleepily.

Christine slowly woke up as she dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen to get some coffee. She loved Christmas, but she was always slow in the mornings. Soon they were opening presents.

Christine had gotten Meg a bath relaxation set. She had been working really hard dancing lately and she needed a way to relax. She got Miss Giry a coffee mug with flowers on it. She kind of had a collection of them, and this would be a nice addition.

"Thank you so much, Christine" Meg said "This is really nice"

"This is a beautiful mug, thank you. I always love having another mug for my collection" Miss Giry said with a smile as she got up to hug Christine.

Meg had gotten Christine a candle that she made herself at the store. It had a lot of different scents that Christine liked in layers. She got her mom a nice purse.

Christine smiled and smelled the candle "This is really great, thank you for making this for me"

"Thank you so much for getting me this honey, I really needed it" Meg's mom got up and hugged her daughter.

Miss Giry got Christine a journal and she got Meg clothes and several other things.

"You always have a million thoughts and worries running through your head, I thought this would help you organize your thoughts. And maybe be less stressed. You could also use it for notes about your music, if you wanted." she explained.

"Thank you so much, this is really nice" Christine thanked.

"Thank you for everything mom" Meg said and she hugged her mother.

Miss Giry made them a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon. They spent the rest of the day lazily lounging around until dinner. Miss Giry made a feast, and insisted they bring a good portion of the leftovers home.

"You girls deserves to have some good food that you don't have to make for yourselves" she insisted.

She didn't have to fight them long and they left the next day, carrying a good bit of food with them.

* * *

It was the night of Christine's concert. She was dressed in a silver sparkling dress that shone when the lights of the stage were lit on her. Her hair was tied up in a bun. Her dress matched the clothes of her fellow chorus members, and the guys of the group wore black pants and simple, dark blue shirts. Everyone was back stage, shuffling around before they went on stage. Everyone was ready, but the nerves in the room were palpable. The singers who had solos seemed a little more on edge. Erik had encouraged Christine to try for a solo part, but she had chosen not to.

She remembered the conversation "Let's see how I do just singing at a concert normally, then I can try for a solo" she had said.

"Okay, if that's what you want" Erik had said "But after this concert, promise me you will at least try for a solo, I will help you"

"If I do well ... then I will try for one" Christine had promised.

But right now she was very happy with her decision to not try for a solo part. She was nervous enough as it was. Before she knew it, she was moving onto the stage with the rest of the chorus groups. There were dim lights illuminating the audience and to Christine it seemed enormous. She saw Meg and Raoul in the audience and wondered where Erik was. He had told her he would be attending. She didn't have time to scan the audience before the lights over the people turned off and the spotlights on the stage turned on and Christine started singing.

* * *

Christine was exquisite on the stage. Erik was watching from a dark booth her reserved for himself. She looked beautiful in her dress on the stage and she she sang beautifully. The rest of the group sang surprisingly well, and the soloists sang well enough. However Erik's attention remained focused on Christine, and her watched her for the duration of the concert. She didn't make a single mistake and Erik was proud, but not surprised. He always had faith in her.

* * *

As the music died down Christine felt herself come back to earth. Her body was warm from the lights above her and her voice still felt warm in her throat. She was exhilarated. She did it, and she didn't mess up. She exited the stage with the rest of her chorus and once they got backstage everyone started softly murmuring about there successful concert.

Christine made her way into the crowd from the backstage area and was soon met with and enthusiastic Meg, engulfing her in a hug "Oh, Christine, you did amazing. I told you you would do great. You guys sounded amazing" she gushed.

"You really were great Christine" Raoul said and he pulled her close to her for a quick kiss, before he slung his arm over her shoulder. He had a bouquet of flowers which he handed to Christine "These are for you, you deserve them after your performance tonight" he said.

"Thank you both" Christine said, as she took the flowers "And thank you for coming tonight"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world. You always have gone to all my stuff" Meg said.

"I was excited to come" Raoul said "Hey, do you want to grab some dinner? My treat" he offered.

"Sure" Christine agreed "Let me just grab my coat and put these in my car, we can meet at the entrance to the theater"

Meg and Raoul agreed, so they parted ways. Christine got her coat from the room she had stored it in before the performance, before heading out to her car. Erik was waiting by her car. He was wearing the sweater that she got him, which brought a smile to her face.

"You did amazing" he praised

A smile took over her face "Thank you, it felt amazing, to be singing in front of people. I was so nervous, but once I starting singing it just felt so natural."

"You are a natural" Erik agreed "And you worked hard too, many with talent waste it by not working hard. By thinking talent is enough, but you are smarter than that"

"I couldn't have done it without you" Christine said and she unlocked her door and placed the flowers inside before re-locking the door. She turned to face him again "Thank you so much"

Erik's eyes caught on her wrist to see that she was wearing the bracelet he had gotten her and he smiled to himself "It was my pleasure"

Christine pulled him into a quick hug which Erik reciprocated "I've got to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

Erik nodded "I'll see you then"

Christine away and through the theater to get to the front, where she meet Meg and Raoul.

* * *

**End of Chapter. So what did you think? This was a nice long chapter. Erik and Christine had more interaction in this chapter. What about Christmas, you got to see a little more of Erik's past, when he was a child. Later I will dive into more of his past as an adult that I mentioned in earlier chapters, for those of you who are wondering, I haven't forgotten. Please review, your reviews really do motivate me. Also please feel free to P.M. me if you would like. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. A big thank you to my loyal readers, and reviewers. I can't believe I have over 400 veiws. Thank you to everyone who has read and stuck with this fic. I never got any answers on weather anyone wanted a "next time on A New Perspectice" type thing so I am not going to do that, but if anyone does want that just leave a review to say so or PM me. Now, on with the story.**

* * *

The new year came and went and Christine's life continued on its course. She was still working at the hospital, and she had adjusted her hours to make time for the new things in her life. The idea that she was saving up to go back to school and start singing professionally was staring to seam less abstract and more like a possiblity. But, for the most part it still seemed like a faraway dream.

Christine was getting ready for work, not looking forward to the long day ahead of her. After putting her scrubs on she pulled her hair into a ponytail before heading off to the hospital. It was raining and after Christine parked she ran through the weather to get inside.

The workday passed quickly, despite the many hours that Christine was working that day. She didn't love the long days, but she did love what she did.

* * *

Christine awoke late the next morning and stretched out in bed. She had chorus practice later today, and since she didn't have work today she could get ready at a leisurely pace.

She made herself a cup of coffee and fried and egg for breakfast. She slid the egg onto some toast. By the time she was finished eating, Chritine was mostly awake. She started to get ready for the day. She dressed black pants and a dark green sweater. She left her hair down, she didn't have to wear it up since she wasn't going to work.

Five minutes before chorus practice was supposed to start the chorus director called the group to attention.

"We have been working for our music for the spring concert for a few weeks now, and now that we all have a better handle on the chorus of the song we need to start working on the solos soon. We will have auditions for the solo parts next Saturday. Those who have the talent nessicary will have sufficient time to prepare. If you do become one of the soloists you will have an extra hour of practice after each of our two regular practices. If you would like to audition for a solo grab an audition piece on the way out." he announced. "Now, without further ado let's start practice.

After chorus practice Christine grabbed an audition piece and went back to her apartment. She wasn't sure if she was going to audition or not, but she grabbed if anyway. Just in case. Christine did not have work or lessons that day. She always tried to have at least one day a week where she didn't have any work, even if it wasn't on a weekend. She didn't have any lessons with Erik because she had chorus practice, he insisted they be careful not to hurt her voice. She did have a date with Raoul that evening. But she had time to go home and have some me-time.

* * *

Later that night Christine started getting ready for her date. Raoul was taking her to a fancier place tonight. She got dressed in a nice red dress and put a black sweater on. She fastened the necklace Raoul got her for Christmas around her neck. She only wore it on special occasions. She brushed her hair and clipped it back.

Christine didn't have to wait long for Raoul to arrive and pick her up.

"You look beautiful" he smiled and took her in his arms and kissed her.

She smiled back at him "Thank you" she said and she grabbed her coat before walking with him to his car.

The restuarant Raoul took her to was very upscale, and Christine felt a little out of place. She knew she was dressed appropriately, but fancy places had never been her scene. She would much prefer to eat pizza in her sweats on the couch. But Raoul had seemed excited about it, so she agreed.

She and Raoul talked about several trivial topics over dinner. The food was amazing, Christine's work, Christine's singing, Raoul's business.

After dinner Raoul and Christine were walking back to Raoul's car.

"So, shall I take you home?" Raoul asked. "Unless you'd rather come to my place" he offered suggestively.

"Its late, and I have work tommorow" Christine said "I should go home"

* * *

Christine brought the solo audition piece to her next lesson. She told herself that it would be a good peice to practice with, even if she didn't audition. But as nervous as she was at the thought of auditioning, and possibly failing, she realized that she really did want to audition. Before she meet Erik, and staring singing again she would have never even thought to audition, for fear that she would fail. But now she wanted to try, and believed she had a chance.

"How was chorus practice?" Erik asked at the start of their lesson.

"It was good, they gave us pieces to audition for a solo. The audition is next Saturday. I'm thinking about trying for it"

"You will audition" Erik insisted "You did wonderfully at your concert and you are more than ready."

Christine smiled, Erik was the first one she wanted to tell about auditioning for a solo "Well... I guess we did have a deal" she conceded "And I trust you"

"I will not steer you wrong, Christine, now let's get started. We can start sight reading through the peice today and breaking it apart."

The hour following was tough but benifital. It was always harder to start on new music, but it was well worth the effort. By the end of the lesson Christine felt like she was a step closer to her first solo.

* * *

**End of chapter. So what did everyone think. Do you think Christine will get a solo? Please review, and feel free to PM me. I'd love to chat about this story, or anything else. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for all your kind reviews. They are my biggest motivator.**

* * *

Christine was meeting with Meg for breakfast. She used to hang out with Meg much more often, but now with her schedule so busy she had a lot less time to see her. However, they both still made time for their friendship and Christine was very happy to be meeting Meg.

"So, how's Raoul?" Meg asked that morning at breakfast.

"Oh, he's fine. We're good" Christine told Meg with a smile.

Meg didn't look convinced and she raised her eyebrows at Christine and her face told Christine to be honest with her.

"I mean, he's really nice. And I do like him, it's just I don't know. There nothing wrong." Christine said, and she didn't know what else to say. What she told Meg was true, there was nothing wrong with her relationship with Raoul. But there was something bugging her that she couldn't put her finger on.

Meg must have seen the conflict on her face "Its okay Christine, just as long as you are happy. If you aren't happy, you don't have to be with Raoul. You know, just because he's nice doesn't mean you have an obligation to be with him if you don't want to." she said, her tone soft and comforting.

"Yeah... I know" Christine said.

"So what else is new?" Meg asks

"Well, I'm trying out for a solo part, it's this Saturday."

"That's great Christine! You'll do amazing, its great that you are trying out." Meg exclaimed.

Christine smiled "Thanks I was on the fence about it, but Erik convinced me that I ought to at least try. Plus we had a deal that if I did well on the first concert I'd try for a solo part and if he thinks I can do it, I trust his judgment. I was so nervous I was going to fail at my first concert, and I didn't."

"I told you you would do great, but I'm glad you have more faith in yourself now. You have the talent to be amazing, you just need to believe in yourself."

Christine might not have noticed it, but Meg did. When she talked about Raoul Christine seemed neutral, but when she talked about Erik her face became animated and a look that Meg couldn't place took over her eyes.

* * *

Tomorrow was the solo auditions. The date was closing in on Christine as she practiced with Erik. Practicing felt good because it reminded Christine that she really was ready and that it would be fine. Practicing took her mind off the fact that auditions were so close. Christine finished singing the part they were working on and looked to Erik for critique.

"That was very good, you hit all the notes perfectly. Straighten your posture a little, it will help you breathe more. Make sure when you audition you focus on both your posture and your singing"

Christine nodded and corrected her stance before singing again.

"Very good" Erik said when she was done "Now we've worked a lot on the individual pieces, and I think you have that all down. Let's try putting it all together now, just do an run through. You need to hear it all together from yourself. From the top" he instructed. They never chatted much during their lessons. They often talked before and after, but not during. That was reserved for instruction.

Christine started singing the part, each piece and Erik's instructions in her head as she sang. She kept her posture steady and sang through the song, the highs and lows. Erik listened to her sing, and if she had been looking at him she would have seen the admiration in his eyes. He loved everything about her, and her voice light up his world. To Erik, their lessons were a reassurance that they would see each other even if they weren't what Christine called friends. And even though Erik wanted more than friends, he would be happy with that.

Christine finished the song, carrying out the note at the end. She took a breath before taking a sip of water.

"Very good, you sounded great" Erik told her "Even your transitions were good and we haven't worked on those as much. Let's focus on the transition between measure 28 and 29"

The rest of the lesson passed smoothly and when it was over and Christine was gathering her stuff she noticed a text from Raoul.

It read "Hey babe, I won't be able to make your audition tomorrow. Something came up at work. I'm sorry, I wish I could make it. Dinner tomorrow instead?"

Christine frowned as she read the message on her phone. Now no one she knew would be attending her audition. Meg was busy, but she had told Christine that when she invited her. Cecilia and Judie both had work, neither was auditioning. Raoul had said he was going to make it, and it sicked that he was bailing on their plans.

"What's the matter?" Erik asked, concerned to see Christine frowning.

Christine sighed "It's nothing, just none of my friends are going to be at my audition. Raoul was going to come but he's got something else now."

Erik's fists curled at the mention of Raoul. Of course she was still with her pretty boy. "If it's any consolation, I'll be at your audition" Erik told her.

"You'd really do that for me? But you usually don't like being around a lot of other people" Christine said, shocked.

"You're worth it, I wouldn't miss it for the world" Erik told her gently.

Christine gave Erik a tight hug for a second before pulling away. "Thank you" was all she said but she could not put into words how grateful she was, and she could not explain why she was so happy.

* * *

Christine was standing in the back of the stage at the theater, waiting to audition. She could hear the people who had gone before her, and they were good. She tapped her foot anxiously and scanned through her music, singing it in her head. She wished they would just call her name already and get

"Christine Daaé" the judge called and Christine walked onto the stage. She scanned the crowd for Erik, needing his familiar presence to guide her. She saw him in the back row, cloaked in shadows. Christine focused her eyes on him and pretended that she was just at lessons, singing for Erik. She forgot all the people around her and just sang.

* * *

Erik watched Christine as she auditioned. He couldn't help but smile a little when she found him in the theater. Usually when he watched her sing he made sure he was completely hidden. However, since harold Christine he would be here he decided to make an appearance. They're weren't many other people there, besides the performers and the judges.

Christine sang beautifully, as usual and Erik was sure she had secured a solo. As Christine exited the stage Erik moved to the back entrance to meet her.

"You were amazing" he complmented

Christine's cheeks were pink and she smiled at the complement "I'm glad you think so, do you think I will get a part"

"Of course you will. The only reason you would not get the biggest part is because you are new, even though that is what you deserve. But you are a shoe in for a solo. It would be stupid of them to ignore your voice" he told her.

Christine smiled again "I wish I had the confidence you have in me"

"You will in time, Christine. You already are more confident than when we started" Erik assured her.

"Your right" she said as they passed by the coffeehouse "Hey, can I buy you some coffee? It's the least I can do after all the help you gave me for this audition."

Erik didn't want to get coffee, but he couldn't say no to Christine. The chance to spend time with her was never something he passed up on. So he accepted and they walked into the coffee shop.

* * *

**End of chapter. So how'd you like it? Please review, and feel free to PM me. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys, thank you for all of your kind reviews on my last chapter. It makes me so happy to hear your praise. Also, thank you to all who have been reading.**

* * *

Christine was in a crowded club, the music was loud and it pounded against her ears. Her hair was down, hanging around her shoulders and her skin was warm. She was sweating with the heat of many bodies around her and the music vibrated against her skin. A man across the room grabbed Christine's attention and she felt an almost magnetic pull towards him and she walked towards him. The crowd parted for her, like the red sea, she almost had reached him when the club faded away.

Christine was in a ballroom now, it was white and it had gold embellishments around it. The clean interior was filled with people dressed to the nines, in suits and ballgowns. Christine was wearing a silk ballgown of a pure white. The bottom was decorated with gold and silver swirls. Her hair was up now, in a bun and Christine felt a necklace around her exposed neck. The man was here too, and he stood right in front of Christine, wearing a mask. A glance around the room told Christine that everyone was wearing masks too. She even felt the weight of one on her face, though she hadn't before. Christine reached her hand out to remove the mask, but the man artfully took her hand in the air and twirled her before leading her into a dance. The music here was calm and it's melody lead their dance. The man didn't say a word, but his eyes twinkled in adoration.

Christine was standing outside and it was snowing lightly, her hair flowed free for the snow to land in. The man was here and he held her, his arms loosely wrapped around her. Christine looked up to see mistletoe above them and the man's gaze shifted up for a moment before returning to settle on her. With a smile, he kissed her gently, and Christine felt as if everything was right in the world.

* * *

Christine woke up to the steady beeping from the alarm on her phone. She fumbled to silence it. Her mind was foggy as she stretched in bed, the dream clinging to her. Who was that man? In the dream, he seemed so important, but now that she was awake she couldn't identify him. By the time she had finished breakfast the dream had mostly faded from her mind.

Today is the day that she will be notified of whether or not she got a solo part. As a result, today is also a day she carries her phone around with her everywhere and tries not to obsessively check it. Work is both a good thing and a bad thing for Christine because of this. On one hand, it takes her mind off of it, if only a little, and gives her something to do. On the other hand, she doesn't have time to check her phone while she works.

When Christine gets off of work there is an email waiting in her inbox, unread. She sits down on a bench outside of the hospital to read it.

"We are pleased to inform you that-" the email starts and Christine's eyes twinkle with excitement. She got a part! The email reads on to inform her of her heightened duties now that she has a solo part and what her part will be. Christine is very pleased with the part she got. It's not the biggest part, but Christine is glad for that because she isn't ready for such a part yet. But it's not the smallest part either, which is impressive for how new she is.

Christine drives home cheerily bopping to the music in her car. When she gets home she decides to text Raoul. He's been busy with work lately and they haven't seen each other as much.

"Hey, just learned I got a decent-sized solo part for the next concert! I've missed you... do you want to get dinner tonight?" she texts.

Christine takes off her scrubs and hops in the shower, savoring the warm water on her skin. When she finishes she wraps a towel around herself and checks her phone. Raoul has texted her back "Congrats on the solo! I'm very proud of you babe. I'm sorry but I'm super busy with work tonight. Let's go out tomorrow. I miss you too"

Christine sighs at this message and texts Meg. Meg texts back in a minute "Congratulations girl, I always knew you could do it. I can totally do dinner, just give me 30 minutes" Christine has a good time with Meg who is, as always, extremely supportive. Christine thinks about how lucky she is to have Meg as a friend.

* * *

Christine's next chorus practice came and passes by much too quickly for her taste. Soon her solo practice was staring and most of the members of the chorus had left. Only a few of the members remained.

"Hi, my name is Christine. I'm one of the new soloists" she introduced nervously.

The woman she introduced herself too just glared at her "I'm Chelsey, the lead soloist".

"Okay everyone let's get started. Christine is our only new arrival so everyone else knows what to do. Pair off with the other soloist from your song and your coaches" a director says briskly and everyone starts shuffling around.

One other person has a brief solo during the same song as Christine, and after finding her, the girl leads Christine to the instructor.

The instruction passes and Christine feels like she is doing okay. The instructor seems to know what he's doing, and Christine thinks she will be able to prepare her for the concert. The other girl is quiet, and after practice is over there is no hanging around and talking. It's a more competitive environment than normal practice, but Christine doesn't mind. If anything it gave her a little rush of pride, that she had made it this far.

That night, she would tell Raoul about practice during their date, and she would tell him about her solo part. He would be politely interested like a good boyfriend should, but he would not have real enthusiasm. Ever since she talked to Raoul Christine had thought more about her relationship with Raoul. It was far from perfect, Meg only pointed out what she already knew, but it wasn't bad. He was sweet, and he genuinely seemed to care about her. He wasn't perfect, but he was safe and easy to be with, and he did make her happy. Not everyone found a good relationship like that, and Christine was reluctant to let go of what she had. But later that night, as she went through the motions off telling Raoul about what was new in her life, she knew she wouldn't be able to tell who she really wanted to until tomorrow.

* * *

The next day Christine awoke early to drive to Erik's house for her lesson. She had work later that day, and so they had scheduled their lesson for earlier. Christine was very grateful to Erik for so many reasons, but his flexibility on when they had their lessons was definitely near the top of the list.

"So, I was thinking that for today's lesson we could start working on my solo piece," Christine says slyly as they start their lesson.

Erik loves this side of her. The fun side of her that jokes with her friends. He loves the fact that she considers him a friend, and one she feels comfortable casually joking with. "Is this your way of telling me that you got the part?" he asks, amused.

A wide smile breaks across Christine's face as she nods her confirmation.

"You are extraordinary, Christine. To get a solo part so soon as a new member is beyond impressive" Erik tells her.

Christine's cheeks color and her heart flutter at this statement, but she pushes her strange reaction away and instead tells Erik everything about the solo and the practice. It is easy to talk to him and it feels right. Christine is glad she got their early because she and Erik end up spending over an hour talking before their lesson.

* * *

It is evening and Nadir is visiting Erik who is lamenting about his love for Christine, and how she will never love him back. Nadir is not so sure about that, Erik is too self-deprecating to see many of his good qualities. While it's true that Erik has done many terrible things, he can also be a really good person if he wants to. And it's clear that he wants to be that for Christine. Nadir is deciding on whether he should say something when the doorbell rings.

* * *

After work, Christine picks up some Chinese takeout and heads over to Erik's house. Raoul is busy with work again, so she doesn't have to feel guilty about choosing to spend the evening with a friend instead of her boyfriend.

Christine arrives at Erik's house and when Erik lets her in she sees a dark-skinned man in the house behind Erik and recognizes him as the same man who came for Erik in the hospital.

"You must be Christine," he says. "Nadir, it's a pleasure to formally meet you" and Nadir extends a hand.

Christine takes his hand. "You must be a friend of Erik's."

Erik interrupts their conversation curtly. "Nadir and I know each other, yes. But he was just leaving" he says with a pointed look at Nadir.

"Ah, yes, it's been nice talking with you, Erik. I'll be on my way".

"Please don't leave on my account" Christine protests.

"I was leaving soon anyway" Nadir insists before leaving.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your time with your friend" Christine apologizes after Nadir leaves.

Erik waves her off. "I'd rather be with you anyway."

A warm feeling fills Christine's heart at this statement "I brought food" she says holding up the takeout bag "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," Erik tells her and they settle in for an evening together. After eating, they decide to watch a movie together and Christine doesn't get home until nighttime.

* * *

**End of chapter. What did everyone think? Of course, Christine had to get the solo part. Thank you for reading, and please review. I recent;y edited this chapter for some grammar/spelling mistakes that were caught by Mominator124, thank you to her for helping improve this writing. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you for all your reviews on the last chapter and thank you to all my continued readers. Your reviews mean so much to me. A special thank you to lks358 who gave me some really helpful advice on this chapter. She has also agreed to beta for me and has been incredibly helpful. Now, without further ado, on with the story.**

* * *

Christine had gone through her music and highlighted her part to separate it from the chorus. She practiced the chorus parts in chorus practice and she practiced the solo with her partner after practice. What Christine had originally thought she would be singing alone she was in actuality singing with a partner. New singers performing solo parts were paired with a partner, so their voices could support each other. It was also as a precaution in case one of the singers couldn't sing the part. Luckily Christine's partner, Ida, was very pleasant. Many of the other soloists were not as kind. Chelsey had the coveted spot as the star soloist, and she wasn't friendly to those she thought might take it from her. The entire environment was much more competitive than what Christine was used to, and if it weren't for Erik she would feel completely unsure about her abilities. At first, Christine disliked the competition, but she had learned to use it to improve.

While Christine got a lot of practice on both the chorus and her solo part, she never got much practice with them together. She was worried that when the time came to perform she would flounder. Unsurprisingly this came up during her time with Erik, as many of her concerns often did.

"I just worry that I'll mess something up if I never practice it all together. I'm not used to singing it and then having others join me," she fretted.

Erik was glancing over her music, but most of his attention was focused on Christine. "We could sing this together. You sing the whole song, your solo and the chorus parts, and I'll sing as the chorus with you. It's not a whole group of people but it should help you adjust."

"Oh! That's great, thank you. I never thought of that, I was just too involved worrying," Christine exclaimed, relieved beyond belief. "Shows how smart I am," she added self-depreciatively.

Erik couldn't understand how a being that was so perfect could possibly find any faults in herself. "You are too hard on yourself, Christine. You are stressed about this, it's natural that you can't think of a solution."

"Thanks, Erik," Christine said with a smile.

Erik found a music stand and placed the music on it, between him and Christine. "You start, so whenever you're ready," he prompted. Christine took a deep breath and began her part.

_"I can read your mind_

_And I know your story_

_I see what you're going through_

_It's an uphill climb_

_And I'm feeling sorry_

_But I know it will come to you_

_Don't surrender_

_Cause you can win_

_In this thing called love"_

Christine's voice flowed like a river, naturally rising where it was high and falling beautifully to the lower parts. She continued through the chorus of the song and Erik joined was reminded of the unearthly experience singing with Erik was. His voice rang magnificently in her ears, filling her with life. She felt as if she could listen to him forever, and never grow tired of it, and if she didn't have to focus on singing herself she just might have.

_"When you want it the most_

_There's no easy way out_

_When you're ready to go_

_And your heart's left in doubt_

_Don't give up on your faith_

_Love comes to those who believe it_

_And that's the way it is"_

Love was the one thing Erik wanted above all else, and the one thing he thought he could never have. He wished it was as simple as believing, but he didn't think it was. The chorus section finished and Christine continued the next part alone in her sweet soprano voice.

_"When you question me_

_For a simple answer_

_I don't know what to say_

_But it's plain to see_

_If you stick together_

_You're gonna find the way_

_So don't surrender_

_Cause you can win_

_In this thing called love"_

As Christine sang it occurred to her, not for the first time, that she wasn't sure she'd ever really felt true love, or not the type the song was talking about anyway. She loved her parents dearly, of course, but had she ever felt a romantic love towards anyone? She'd had feelings for boys before, and she had had her share of boyfriends, but if she was honest with herself, she couldn't say she really loved any of them. Maybe not even Raoul, although the thought sat uncomfortably with her, and she forced her attention back to the music. Soon Erik's voice joined hers again.

_"When you want it the most_

_There's no easy way out_

_When you're ready to go_

_And your heart's left in doubt_

_Don't give up on your faith_

_Love comes to those who believe it_

_And that's the way it is"_

Was that just the way it was? Was earning love as simple as believing? Erik had complete faith in his love for Christine. There was not a doubt in his mind that he loved her. Could his love be enough to earn hers in return?

_"That's the way it is"_

Christine sang alone, reiterating the last line of the chorus like an anthem.

_"When life is empty_

_With no tomorrow_

_And loneliness starts to call"_

Erik echoed the last line of the chorus. He felt lonely most of the time, he had been lonely most of his life. Even when he was around people, even when he was talking to Nadir—someone he considered a friend—he felt lonely. But he had never felt that way around Christine, even from the beginning. Some part of him, however small, had always felt like they were meant to be.

_"Baby don't worry_

_Forget your sorrow_

_Cause love's gonna conquer it all"_

Christine sang as if she was promising such to Erik. They finished the song together.

_"When you want it the most_

_There's no easy way out_

_When you're ready to go_

_And your heart's left in doubt_

_Don't give up on your faith_

_Love comes to those who believe it"_

Both Christine and Erik were silent for a moment after they finished. Erik was letting himself wonder, for the first time, if he actually had a chance with Christine. Christine was wondering why she was in a relationship with a man she didn't love, after five months of dating. She also was wondering why she didn't love Raoul after five months of dating. They had been best of friends as kids and he was perfectly nice. Christine thought back to their last date.

_The two of them had just caught an afternoon movie and were walking down the street, hand in hand. Christine was leaning her head on Raoul's shoulder. They passed an ice cream parlor and Raoul suggested they stop for ice cream, which Christine agreed to. They were both sitting down to ice cream when Christine decided to voice something that had been weighing on her mind lately._

_"You know, I've been thinking about going back to school sometime. Like seriously thinking about it. Not this upcoming semester but the next year, or the year after that. I could go part-time and still work. I've always wanted to, but I've never thought of it seriously before. What do you think?" Christine usually told stuff like this to Raoul first. Partly because he was her boyfriend and she felt like she should, and partly because when they were kids he was always the first person she wanted to tell about everything._

_"What would you study if you went back to school? Theater?" Raoul had asked._

_"Yeah, that's always what I wanted to do before my dad passed. Now that I have more financial stability, I could actually do it. It's all far away now, but it's something I actually am thinking about doing."_

_"Well, if that's what you want, it's definitely worth thinking about; but you know theater isn't the most stable field of work. And wouldn't you have to move away to do more school? I kind of like the idea of you staying near me," Raoul had said, adding charm to an otherwise hard-to-swallow line of thoughts._

_Christine had smiled thinly. "Well, it's far off from now anyways. It's just something I was thinking about."_

Erik's voice broke Christine from her thoughts. "That was good. You did well singing even though I was joining it too. You didn't get distracted. Let's go back to measures 50-58 and rework that part," he said, his tone now business-like. The rest of the lesson went smoothly as Erik and Christine continued working on her solo song.

"That was really helpful," Christine thanked Erik after their lesson.

"That's what I'm here for," Erik responded.

Christine hesitated before leaving. Part of her wanted to talk to Erik about going back to school, but another part of her was too afraid of what he might say. It was one thing for Raoul to express his doubt; he was not an expert on music. At least, that's the reason she told herself. She tried not to think too much about the fact that she valued Erik's opinion above any other. After mentally oscillating Christine blurted out a question "Do you think I could ever make it performing? Like for real?"

"Absolutely," Erik said without hesitation. "You are the most talented and dedicated person I know, and if you wanted to, you would do amazing performing."

Christine didn't even have to ask him to confirm it. She could see the sincerity in his eyes and hear it in his tone. "Thank you, Erik. That means a lot to me," she said softly before leaving.

* * *

After Christine left Erik poured himself a drink and sat down heavily in his chair. He thought of Christine and conflicting emotions swirled inside of him. Singing with her again had been exhilarating, but Erik couldn't help but feel he was deceiving her. There was so much of him that she didn't know. His hands were stained with blood she did not see. If she knew, surely she would want nothing to do with him. But as long as she was in the dark, Erik could have the benefit of her companionship, and that was not something he was ready to let go of. Troubled, he ran his hand over his scarred face, knowing that he could not keep his past from her forever.

* * *

**End of chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. The song is That's the way it is by Céline Dion for those of you who want to listen to it. Please review, and feel free to PM me.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey, sorry for the long wait between updates. I've been really busy and also have had some writer's block. Hopefully, this chapter will make up for it, I think you are going to like it. I've had the idea for a while and I was happy I was finally on this chapter. Now, on with the story.**

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Christine clustered with the other girls, nervously waiting backstage. It was mere minutes before the performance and she was nervous beyond belief. She stood next to Ida, who was also too nervous to make conversation. While at first Christine had been disappointed that she would not actually be singing alone, now she was thrilled that Ida would be singing with her, it was nice to know she wasn't the only one who was nervous right now. As they walked on stage Christine sternly told herself to calm down and took a deep breath.

Tonight Christine was wearing a simple pink sundress. Her attire matched the other soloists while the rest of the chorus was dressed in green. They were standing on the stage in their pre-set pattern. The lights turned on, momentarily blinding Christine. The way the lights focused on the stage made it harder to see the audience, a fact Christine was very happy for. The first song did not feature her solo and Christine let herself fall into the comfortable rhythm. Whenever she had talked to Erik about her nerves, he'd told her she had nothing to worry about, and she hoped he was right. But, moreover, what he had made her recognize was that worrying was not going to help her. As she sang the first song she focused on letting her nerves melt away before her upcoming solo in the next song.

The opening song came to a close and it was time for Christine's solo. Taking a deep breath, Christine tried to clear her mind of everything but her notes. The beginning of the song was just Ida and her, and she forced herself to start singing. Soon the chorus joined them, and the rest of the song flowed smoothly. Christine was shocked at how easy it all felt when she was actually singing. The music melted all her nerves away, and after the song was over she felt an intoxicating joy. The rest of the concert flew by and before she knew it Christine was bowing with the other performers and walking off of the stage.

* * *

After the performance, Christine headed out to celebrate with Raoul and Meg. They ended up at a bar, all enjoying a drink.

"You were great, Christine. I always knew you could do it," Meg praised.

Raoul slung his arm around Christine's shoulder and gave her a kiss on the lips. "You were great, babe."

"Thanks. I'm glad we were able to celebrate together. I feel like I barely see you anymore, you're so busy with work." Christine said, unable to keep her tone from sounding slightly accusing. Part of her felt bad for the jab, especially when they were meant to be celebrating, but he really hadn't been around much. They still went out at least once a week, but it was far from the amount of time they spent together earlier in the relationship. Outside of these scheduled dates, Raoul always seemed to be too busy for her. It didn't exactly help the doubts that Christine already had about the relationship.

"I know, I'm sorry babe," Raoul said, sounding guilty. "I know I need to make more time for you. Don't think you are not important to me."

Christine smiled, wanting to believe him, and leaned into his body "It's okay, I know you can't help it. Plus, we have time together now, and you made it to my performance."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Raoul said.

The tension didn't completely fade, but Christine was happy enough to let Meg change the topic to something more cheery, and the three of them spent the rest of the night happily joking and chatting with each other.

* * *

When Christine got home that night she checked her phone for any messages and noticed a text from Erik.

"Hey, you were amazing tonight. I knew you could do it. I'll see you at our next lesson."

Christine smiled as she read it, touched. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you 😊," she texted back. Erik's words stayed with her as she got ready for bed, and she fell asleep smiling.

* * *

The next evening after Christine finished her shift at work, she picked up two orders of takeout and headed over to Raoul's place to surprise him with dinner. She'd thought more about it since their conversation last night, and the more she'd thought, the more she'd felt she was being unfair to Raoul. Raoul wasn't the only one who would need to make an effort if this relationship was going to work. So she'd decided to attempt a gesture tonight, figuring that since he often worked from home, she should be able to catch him there even if he was busy.

Christine pulled up to Raoul's apartment complex and took the elevator up to his floor. When she knocked on the door there was no answer, and after a minute she tried the door and found it unlocked. She was not prepared for the scene that greeted her: Raoul was on the couch over a half-naked girl that Christine had never seen before, kissing her passionately. And from what it looked like, they weren't planning on stopping. Christine stood there frozen for a full minute before Raoul finally noticed her.

When he did, he scrambled up off of the couch. "Christine, wait! I can explain."

"Don't bother," Christine spat at him, storming out of his apartment.

Raoul followed her down the hallway and to the stairs and elevator. Christine was going to take the elevator, but seeing Raoul following behind her, she reached for the handle to the stairwell.

"Christine, please listen," Raoul pleaded.

"Listen to what?! Your 'explanation'? It was pretty clear what was happening, Raoul. I don't need you to 'explain' anything."

"Christine, please. I love you. That has to count for something."

"If that's what your love is, then I don't want it. Goodbye, Raoul. We're done!"

"Christine, that's not fair. Please, let's try to work this out. You're being selfish," Raoul said, anger replacing his previously guilty tone.

"I'm being selfish?! You're the one who's cheating on me!"

"Christine, come on. Be reasonable. It's not like you were willing to perform in that area, and I didn't want to pressure you." Raoul said this like he was doing her a favor, and Christine felt a mixture of anger and hurt threatening to blur her vision.

"Okay, so because I wasn't willing to sleep with you it's okay for you to cheat on me. God, Raoul! I can't believe I dated you for as long as I did! How long has this been going on?"

"That's not what's important. I'll end things with Rosie. Please give us another chance. I love you."

"I don't believe you," Christine told him, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "And I know that, even if I tried to give you another chance, I would never be able to trust you again. We are done, Raoul. Goodbye."

Knowing that she couldn't keep her voice firm any longer, she didn't wait for a reply before turning and taking off down the stairs. She barely noticed the many flights as she flew down them all, fueled by anger. When she exited the stairwell she made a beeline for the exit, feeling the last of her composure slipping away. By the time she made it out of the building, she was sobbing.

* * *

**End of chapter. So what do you think? Glad Christine's finally not with Raoul anymore? Thank you all for reading, and please review. - K**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey everyone I'm back. Sorry for the longer wait after the big reveal last update. I've decide to start updating once every 2 weeks. This way sometimes I can work ahead and still give you new material when I am busy, which I will be now that school's started back.**

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Christine drove home in a blur. Her face was still wet with tears and she kept bursting into new fits of tears. She felt hurt and ashamed and heartbroken. Her relationship with Raoul had never been perfect, but she'd thought he was a good stable guy. She'd thought he was the type of guy who wouldn't hurt her. She'd thought she was enough for him, but she wasn't. That was what hurt most of all.

By the time Christine gets back to her apartment, she is in desperate need of a friend. A shoulder to cry on and someone to help her forget about all this, if only for a little bit. She instantly dialed Meg's number. The phone rang, and rang, and rang before going to voicemail. Christine didn't let the mechanical voice that answers finish its automated message before angrily pressing the end call button. Frustrated and emotionally frayed, Christine paced her apartment like a caged animal. Meg would only not answer her phone if she was doing something important, and as much as Christine wanted someone to talk to, she didn't want to interrupt her just to deal with her problems. After a minute, though, Christine didn't know if she could take it anymore. She grabbed her car keys and left the apartment. She just needed something to clear her head. Something to stop herself coming up with a million things that Raoul probably didn't like enough about her to stay with her.

She ended up at the bar she and meg often visited to celebrate together or in commiseration of their failures. Over the years it became their spot. They came here when Christine got a place in the chorus, and again when she got the solo part. But without Meg, Christine found that the bar did not feel so welcoming. Although the bar was crowded with people, she felt so alone. Nevertheless, she pushed through the crowd, found a spot at the bar, and ordered a drink. She downed the drink quickly and ordered another. After a few drinks, Christine was buzzed and happy. She felt lighter, but Raoul and the girl she found him with still plagued her mind, pulling her down. She forced herself to push the memory away, finding it easier to ignore with some alcohol in her. After a few more drinks Christine wasn't thinking about Raoul anymore.

She was, however, completely drunk. She knew she was not making smart decisions; she was flirting with the bartender and not in her right mind anymore. But she was tired of always making smart decisions. She had done that all her life, and no one ever stuck around. If she was less inebriated, Christine would know this wasn't true. She would think of Meg and her mom, and she would think of Erik. They hadn't left her. But she was drunk and bitter. She thought of Raoul and her parents. Raoul who chose to leave her, and her parents who were gone. She ordered another drink.

"This is your last one, I'm cutting you off," the bartender told her. "You need to call someone. The bar closes soon, and you can't drive home."

"I don't want to go home," Christine said sullenly.

"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Call a friend," the bartender insisted.

"Fine," Christine muttered, pulling out her phone and attempting to click on Meg's number. After touching the screen a few times the phone started ringing.

It only rang for a second before there was an answer. "Christine?" said a deep male voice that definitely did not belong to Meg.

"Erikkk?" Christine slurred.

"What's wrong, Christine?" Erik asked, concerned. He answered without hesitation when Christine called. But now he could tell she was drunk, and he was worried.

"I didn't mean to call you… I tried to call Meg. She needs to drive me home."

"It's okay. You called me, and I can pick you up. Where are you?" He was already halfway out the door when Christine gave him the name of the bar.

"You don't have to come," she protested. "I'm fine."

"I don't mind. I'm coming, just stay where you are," Erik told her firmly. He didn't hang up until she promised she would stay put.

* * *

Christine didn't wait long in the bar before Erik texted to let her know he was there, and she stumbled outside. He was waiting on the sidewalk outside the bar, in front of his car.

"I'm sorry I bothered you," Christine said, upset. She was glad Erik was here, but she was not happy to see him in her intoxicated state. Her tongue was always looser when she was drunk, and she wasn't sure what she would end up saying to him. Her feelings for him had grown increasingly confusing, and now that she was broken up with Raoul she wasn't sure what she would do.

"It's no bother," Erik assured her, leading her to the passenger side of his car. After making sure she was securely seated, he moved to the driver's side and started the car.

"Erik, do you think I'm pretty?" Christine asked abruptly.

"I know you're beautiful," Erik said thoughtlessly, before cursing himself. Surely she would be frightened by such bold assessments by someone like himself. What Christine said next surprised him.

"Raoul doesn't think I'm pretty. Not pretty enough for him."

Erik's hands tightened on the wheel of the car as he fought the rush of defensiveness at just the thought of anyone making Christine feel that she wasn't enough. "What makes you say that?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm not good enough for him. He was with someone else. I don't know what I did wrong. What's wrong with me Erik" Christine asked, suddenly close to tears.

Erik tightened his grip on the wheel of the car and forced himself to take a calming breath before speaking "Nothing is wrong with you. Raoul's the one who's wrong. He had you and he threw it away. It's not your fault, Christine," Erik reassured her.

They drove the rest of the way to his house in silence. Erik didn't know where Christine lived, and he didn't want to leave her alone in her current state anyway. Instead, he helped her out of the car and led her inside.

"Thank you, Erik. You're too good to me," Christine slurred, leaning heavily on him. Her eyes were half-closed. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"I wonder the same thing all the time," Erik said softly, letting his defenses down. It was hard not to, with Christine's soft body pressing against his. He led her to the guest room, sat her on the bed, and pulled her shoes off.

"Get some sleep, Christine," he suggested.

"I don't want to sleep, I want to stay up with you." Christine protested.

Hearing Christine say this made Erik's heart soar, and he had to remind himself that she didn't know what she was saying. "You need to sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

Christine curled up on the bed and closed her eyes obediently, mumbling her acceptance. Satisfied that she was comfortable, Erik gave her one last glance before leaving the room. He stood outside the door for a long time before finally heading out into the living room and sinking into a chair. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, not with Christine sleeping in his house. All he could do was stay awake and replay the last words she said to him over in his mind.

* * *

**I know it's not super long, but some good E/C interaction. Let me know how you liked it. I plan to make the next chapter longer and have more important content, but I won't give it away :). Please Review and feel free to PM me. Every review I read means so much to me. - K**


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm back with a new chapter for you guys. Thank you so much for all your reviews. I think you guys are really going to like this chapter.**

* * *

Christine woke the next morning with a pounding headache. She groaned as the light from the window hit her eyes and pulled the pillow back over her head. It didn't take long for Christine to realize that she wasn't in her own bed. Groggily, she looked around as she started to remember what happened last night. She found Raoul with that other woman, she left him, Meg didn't pick up, she was at the bar, and that's where it started to get fuzzy. She remembered most of her time at the bar, how much she drank for starters. But at a certain point the events became a haze in her mind. Someone must have picked her up, since she was in no state to drive last night. The room she was in was definitely not in Meg's apartment, though. If not Meg, then who …

And then it clicked. It was Erik who picked her up last night. Erik who saw her like this. Despite being alone in the room, Christine covered her face in mortification. She could not believe she let Erik see her that way. What must he think of her? She'd slept in the clothes she'd been wearing last night, her shoes were discarded on the ground and her purse was on the bedside table, she wondered how much help she'd needed from Erik to get here. In an effort to avoid facing Erik now, Christine dug through her purse for her phone. She had one missed call and voicemail from Meg and about a million missed calls, voicemails, and text messages from Raoul. She played through Meg's message first.

"Hey Chrisy, I saw you called me earlier. I'm sorry I missed you. Call me back when you get a chance. Is everything okay? Just call me back soon."

Then Christine glanced over the texts Raoul sent her. They ranged from apologetic to angry and he ended by asking her to please meet with him. She deleted all the voice messages he sent without listening to them; the thought of hearing his voice made her queasy. That done, she sat in bed for a moment longer before making herself get up. She was going to have to face Erik eventually, and she really wanted some Advil for her head. Before leaving the room she checked her appearance on her phone's camera, frowning at her messy hair and disheveled clothes. She grabbed the small brush she kept in her purse for her hair and smoothed her clothes out as best she could before steeling herself to go out.

She wandered into the living room and after not finding Erik there she made her way over to the kitchen. Erik was there, standing over a pan of scrambled eggs. A strange warmth filled her chest at this domestic scene.

A smile spread across Erik's face when he saw Christine standing there. He'd been awake most of the night, just sitting in the living room. The mere fact that he was so close to Christine made it impossible to fall asleep. At some point he fell asleep in his chair, and he started making breakfast once he woke up. He wanted to do everything he could for her.

"Good morning Christine," he said calmly. "How'd you sleep?"

"I slept well, thank you. And thank you so much for helping me last night. I'm sorry for dragging you into my mess. I'll get out of your hair right away," Christine replied, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"No, no. Please don't go," Erik protested. "Stay and eat some breakfast. I told you last night I don't mind at all. We are friends, are we not? Friends help each other. Sit down. Let me get you some coffee and food."

"Okay. Thank you, Erik," Christine said quietly, unable to deny him.

She sat down at the small kitchen table and Erik brought her a plate of eggs, a cup of coffee, and two Advil. In a moment he joined her at the table and a plate of eggs for himself. He ate slowly, careful to avoid his mask and trying not to watch Christine too intently.

"Is it uncomfortable to wear that all the time?" Christine asked, noticing the careful way he ate. Usually she avoided the topic of his mask or his face. He tended to get very cold or angry when she brought it up, and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Christine had never been the type to push things with people, so she always just left it alone. But this morning she wasn't thinking as clearly, and the words slipped out before she had time to process them.

Erik froze for a moment before answering her. "Only a little, but I don't mind so much anymore. You get used to it."

"You know, you don't have to wear it on my account. I've seen your face before, and it really doesn't bother me. I know it's hard for you to believe that, but I hate to see you feel like you have to wear it. I'd much rather see your real face." The words tumbled out of Christine's mouth before she had time to think them through. It had always been what she thought, but she's always stopped herself from saying something before. But now it seemed more important.

Usually Erik wouldn't even consider such a request. Remove his mask? In front of the woman he is in love with? The idea was preposterous. But something in Christine's eyes made him stop and consider. Something about the way that her clothes were still slightly wrinkled and her hair a little tousled. Something about the fact that he was the very last person to see her before she went to sleep tonight. Something about the fact that she called him last night, even though it was on accident. Something about the fact that she was no longer seeing that handsome boy of hers. Something about the fact that she slept in his house last night and now she was sitting in front of him eating food he made for her.

"Is that really what you want?" Erik asked, praying to God that she says no. He didn't think he could deny her anything right now, but the thought of taking his mask off made him slightly ill.

"Yes, it is," Christine said boldly before adding, "but you know you don't have to." Erik didn't reply and after a moment she reached across the table to squeeze his hand.

Her hand touching his was the last push Erik needed to decide. He slowly lifted his other hand up to his mask, because there's no way he'd let go of her hand, and removed his mask, closing his eyes as he did. He didn't want to see the initial horror in her eyes as she realizes it's so much worse than she remembered. But the gasp of disgust that he expected never came and he opened his eyes to see a smile on Christine's beautiful face. She took a bite of her eggs and gave his hand one last squeeze before letting go of it, as if this was completely normal. Erik hadn't thought it possible to love her more, but that moment proved him wrong.

"So, what exactly did I talk about last night?" Christine asked, both because she genuinely wanted to know and because she wanted to shift the topic to something more casual. She felt like she must have told him about Raoul, but her memory was too blurry to be sure.

"Oh, not much," Erik deferred, shifting uncomfortably.

"Oh, come on!" Christine protested. "I know that's not true. Tell me."

"You told me about what happened… with that boy you were seeing." Erik said evenly.

Christine shifted in her seat. "Yeah. I figured. I just can't believe… I mean our relationship wasn't great, so I know I shouldn't be so upset. But it just hurts, you know? That he didn't have the guts to at least break up with me instead of just screwing some girl behind my back."

Erik could see the sadness and hurt in her eyes and he wanted to kill the idiot who did this to her. He wanted to hurt this boy–he always had a little bit, to be honest—but now he felt those violent urges more than ever. However, Erik shoved his rage down and reminded himself that this was not the time. Right now Christine needed him to comfort her, not allow the monster inside of him to take over.

"It's not your fault, Christine. You did absolutely nothing wrong. He is the one who cheated on you. He is the one who is wrong," he told her firmly.

Christine smiled genuinely at Erik. If it had been anyone else saying that, she would have given them a fake smile and told them she was okay, even when she wasn't. But when Erik said it, and his voice told her he meant it, it really did make Christine feel better. The things he'd said last night were coming back to her, too.

"Thank you, Erik."

They let the conversation drift to lighter subjects for the remainder of the meal, and when they finished Christine got up to clear the dishes.

"Please, don't trouble yourself," Erik protested. "I can do that."

"No, you can not." Christien argued. "You cooked, I'll clean up. It will only take me five minutes."

Erik sighed but let it go. It was hard for him to win an argument against Christine rather than just giving in to her wishes. True to her word, Christine was soon done with the dishes and the two of them settled themselves in the living room. Erik had replaced his mask while Christine was cleaning up, and Christine didn't say anything when she'd noticed. She knew how big it was for him to take it off earlier—he was always meticulous about his mask.

"Do you have work today?" Erik asked her.

"Yeah, but I have a night shift so I don't have to be there until a little later. You know I really can't thank you enough for helping me last night. I wish I hadn't bothered you, but I'm really glad it was you who came and got me." Christine said, feeling a little shy at the confession.

"What do you mean?" Erik asked.

"I mean you're my best friend, although you can't tell Meg I said that. She'll fight you for the title. But you're my best friend, and you're a good person, and I like spending time with you," Christine said simply.

If only it were that simple, Erik thought. But Christine got one crucial piece of information wrong. "Oh Christine, you don't know me. If you did you would bever be able to say that I am a good person."

Christine had always suspected that there was another part of Erik—a part he never let her see, besides the part that he hid under his mask, even now. She knew she needed to tread carefully. "What do you mean? You've been nothing but good to me. Surely that counts for something."

"Oh, yes, I suppose it does. But being kind to one person means next to nothing after the sins of my past." Erik knew he should let go. He couldn't keep lying to Christine and loving her at the same time. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her now; he was in too deep. Really it was his own fault for not stopping this sooner, before he started feeling too much.

"You can tell me anything, Erik," Christine told him gently.

"I will tell you everything, I promise, Christine. You deserve to know, but you have to promise me something. Promise not to stop me and say anything. Not until I get to the end. I know you may want to say something sooner, but please let me finish first. Can you do that?" Erik's voice was solemn, and it made Christine straighten.

"I promise, Erik," she said simply. Her heart speed in her chest, anxious of what Erik was soon to confess to her.

After a long silence Erik spoke. "I told you before that I joined the army when I was younger. I joined when I was 18. My mother was quick to kick me out as soon as I was a legal adult. My father died before I was born, or at least that's what she told me, and she always hated me. She couldn't stand to have a son who looked like me. I had nowhere else to go, so I joined. It was a way for me to survive. At the time I had delusions about the respect it would bring me. But I think deep down I always knew that that was foolish. I designed a special mask for the occasion. It was a flesh tone and it molded to my face. It made me look almost normal, if you didn't look too close. If anyone noticed anything they would likely just think my face looked… off. Or strange, but that was better than hideous, so I accepted it. I had to bank on the fact that they wouldn't pay close attention, and they didn't. I passed the physical and mental evaluations and I was shipped out to Iraq." This is the part of the story that Erik did not fear telling, the part where his beautiful Christine could still feel some sympathy towards him and not just hatred. He gauged her reaction as he spoke, but Christine maintained a steady expression.

Christine felt a hot rage building in her chest as she listened. She knew Erik's mother was never kind to him, but whenever he spoke about how she treated him it made Christine angry. How dare a mother treat her son that way for something he had no control over? Could a mother really be that vain? As much as Christine wanted to say this, she held her tongue, remembering her promise to Erik.

Erik cleared his throat and continued. "Unfortunately, the other soldiers in my unit did notice. I was too cocky, too proud of my new mask. Too unwilling to give up my positive relationship with them to protect myself. It would have been better for me to be more solitary, not try to bond with them. But it felt so nice to have people who would actually talk to me. To have the older soldiers who acted almost paternally to me. I had never had that before, and I was young and stupid. One day some of the younger soldiers found out about my mask. I had always been so careful to maintain the illusion, but somehow they must have noticed something. They got it off and they jeered at me and they beat me up. I passed out, and when I woke up my unit was gone. They hadn't gone far, and I tried to make my way over to them. I was taken by enemy troops before I could reach them. They knocked me out, and when I came to again I was in a dark room. They tortured me, there's no other word for it. For months this went on, just nothing but pain." Erik paused to collect himself.

Christine still didn't say anything, despite wanting to cry out at the horror of it. Instead she took Erik's hand in hers, encouraging him to go on.

After a moment he took a deep breath and continued a little shakily. "One of their top people saw something in me. She thought I could be useful to them, if I could take all my anger and channel it towards the right people. I was so angry then, at everyone. At my mother, my father, my former unit, the people who were hurting me. I had never had a great belief in God or any sort of higher power, but then I cursed every name I could think of. She offered me a deal: they would stop hurting me if I would work for them. I didn't agree right away, but it didn't take long. I was too weak to withstand more torture. I accepted and she turned me into her monster. My face, you see, was my main weapon. The sight of it made many weaker men confess and their confession sentenced them to execution. For some, those who had endured the same torture I had, I must have been a relief in a way. But I was creative when called to be. The object of their game was to get the prisoners to confess, whether or not they were actually guilty. Often they weren't and confessed only to end the pain.

"I worked with them for years. At first I hated it, but I grew to enjoy it. Inflicting pain on others brought me a sick pleasure, like I was completing some kind of cosmic payback. Nadir was the reason I left. I formed a bond with him while I was there. He was one of their people, but he never agreed with what they were doing. One day we ran away. It was carefully planned, but so much of it was based on variables that could have easily gone wrong. We were lucky and made it to a U.S. embassy. We lied and said we were both escaped prisoners of war. They sent us home, there was a huge settlement and many stories surrounding us, but they died down over time. My mother had died while I was over there, and I inherited a large sum of money from her. My father was quite rich apparently, and he left her more than enough to live on. How I got in her will, I am still not sure. The settlement combined with her money was quite enough to live off comfortably. I bought this place and retreated into obscurity because I could. I sold some of the music I write anonymously, more for something to do than for the income. I stayed living like that for years, until the accident. Then I met you, and you know the rest."

Erik kept his eyes on the floor as he finished. He couldn't bear to look at Christine, to see her reaction. For a long time she didn't say anything, and Erik was about to speak when her arms snaked around him in a tight embrace. She pulled away from the hug after a moment and he met her gaze.

"It's not your fault."

Erik stared at her in shock. "Christine, you don't understand. I choose to do everything I di—"

Christine cut him off. "You never had a choice. You did what you had to do. I understand perfectly."

"How can you still want anything to do with me?" Erik asked, not comprehending. Surely there was a limit to Christine's goodness and understanding.

"Because, I…" Christine trailed off.

_Love you_, that was what she'd been about to say. It wasn't even a question for her—she could feel it in her gut. She wanted Erik in her life, always. What he did in the past didn't matter. And despite his past, she was certain that he would never do anything in the future to make her love him less. It wasn't logical, it didn't make sense, but it was, and Christine supposed that was just the nature of love. She didn't know how she hadn't realized all of this before. It all felt so clear to her now, and she almost couldn't help but say it out loud. But the timing wasn't right. Not with everything Erik had just shared with her, not with everything that had happened with Raoul just yesterday. When things were right, she would tell him. For now, it was enough to reassure him that she wasn't about to disappear.

"Because I care about you," Christine said, content to leave it at that.

* * *

**End of chapter. Much longer chapter than last time, but hopefully it was worth the read. What did you guys think? Please review! Also if you want to learn so interesting stuff about how far people are willing to go to obey authority look up Milgram's shock experiment. It is absolutely fascinating, and it kind of connects to this chapter. It was done after WWII to investigate the validity of many of the Nazi claims at Nuremberg that they just did what they did because they were following orders. If you don't want to read it but you are interested, PM me. I'll summarize all the details for you. Credits to lks358 for editing for me. I could not do this without her. - K**


	20. Chapter 20

**Here is the next chapter, I hope you like it.**

* * *

Christine was sitting in Meg's apartment at the table across from her, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened the other night or not?" Meg prompted her.

"I broke up with Raoul." Christine said simply. If she'd talked to Meg a couple of days ago she would have been much more upset. But considering everything that had happened since then it all felt almost mundane to her now. She was much more focused on everything that had happened the day after. Everything that Erik had told her swirled around in her mind. She hadn't wanted to worry Erik in the moment, but she was far from finished processing the information. That coupled with her realization about her feelings for Erik took precedence over her breakup with Raoul. Not to say she wasn't still upset about it—his betrayal still stung her. But it felt like much less of an issue, all things considered.

"Really?" Meg asked her cautiously. "How'd that happen?"

"I went to his apartment to surprise him with dinner and I found him with another girl." As distanced as Christine now felt from that day, the words still sounded bitter.

"Oh, Chris. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there for you," Meg said sympathetically. She knew that Christine wasn't in love with Raoul, but she also knew that Christine still must be hurting. Christine had always struggled with her self-esteem and Meg could imagine how shitty she must have felt when she saw Raoul with this other girl.

"It's okay, you're here now. And I'm fine, really I am. I was really upset at first, but I'll be okay," Christine assured her.

"Have you talked to him at all since then?"

Chirstine shook her head. "No, I haven't. He has called me a ton of times and left a ton of voicemails and texts, but I've been ignoring all of them."

"Good, he doesn't deserve you." Meg said protectively. Mentally she added "Kill Raoul" to her list of things to do. "What did you do? When you couldn't get a hold of me?"

"Um, well. I kind of went to our bar, and I got a little drunk," Christine admitted, not too proud of herself.

Meg nodded. Christine's break up routine had always consisted of either ice cream or alcohol, oftentimes both. "You caught your boyfriend cheating on you. You deserve to get a little drunk. Don't make yourself feel guilty about it," she reassured Christine, adding sternly, "although you'd better not have driven home.".

"Oh, I didn't, don't worry. You know I don't drink and drive."

"I know, I know. I just thought you would have called me for a ride."

"I meant to," Christine told her. "But I kind of accidentally called Erik instead."

Meg's eyebrows shot up. "Erik? You mean your Erik?"

"He's not mine," Christine said, blushing. "But yes, I called Erik. I meant to call you and I called the wrong number. But he came and drove me home safely."

That didn't surprise Meg greatly, judging from what Christine had told her about Erik. Still, she couldn't resist teasing Christine just a little. "That's nice of him. Did anything else happen?"

Christine's face turned crimson "No! Nothing like that! Get your head out of the gutter, Meg."

If Meg had suspected that something was up before, Christine's reaction more than confirmed her suspicion. She didn't think that Christine was lying, but she knew her friend wouldn't have been so defensive if there was nothing going on. "So, have you talked to him yet?"

"Yeah, we talked the morning after."

Christine's voice was measured to sound nonchalant, but Meg could always see through her. There was clearly something weighing on Christine, so she said nothing and waited for Christine to fill the silence. After a long minute, Christine did.

"I realized something yesterday, when I was talking to Erik," Christine finally said.

"Hmm, and what is that?" Meg asked, hoping her casual tone would encourage Christine.

"I think I may have feelings for Erik. Like, romantic ones." Christine blurted the words before she could chicken out. As much as she feared making the confession, she didn't know how much longer she could deal with them on her own.

Meg blinked in shock, though not at Christine's feelings. She had long suspected that that was the case. What surprised her was the fact that Christine had finally admitted them to herself, and that she felt sure enough to tell her.

"Since when?" Meg asked gently.

"Since… oh, I don't know how long. I think I've felt them on some level for a while."

"Well then, what made you realize them?"

"A couple of things, I guess. One of them was my breakup with Raoul. When I was dating Raoul, I was too wrapped up in that to let myself see the possibility of anything else. But also, Erik told me some things. Some really personal things about his past, and we talked for a while." Christine sipped her coffee, her mind drifting back to that conversation. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about it.

"What sort of things did he tell you?"

"A lot of things. He did some pretty bad stuff in the past. Horrible stuff, really. It's not my business to say what, but it was bad. He said he wanted to be honest with me, and he was so worried that I would want nothing to do with him. But I didn't feel that way at all. I mean, I should have, but I didn't." The words were spilling out; it was a relief to finally share all of this, even if she didn't go into specifics. "I guess I just realized I care about him more than I thought I did."

Christine presented the last part casually, but Meg could tell that she felt deeper than she was letting on. But Meg knew that Christine didn't like to be probed or to feel vulnerable, a consequence of her fractured childhood, so she let it go and changed the topic for Christine's sake.

"So, how is work going?"

Christine breathed a sigh of relief and happily switched to a less sensitive topic. She'd had enough of thinking about guys for now. Not that her mind didn't wander to Erik, even as she talked to Meg about her work. As difficult as it was for Christine to deal with, she knew Erik wouldn't be leaving her head any time soon.

* * *

The next day when Christine went to chorus practice, she tried to let it bring her back into the simple cycle of life. The craziness of the last few days had been a lot for her to keep up with, and she was happy to be singing with the chorus again. It really hadn't been long since she last sang in this theater, but the familiarity of it put her at ease. Talking to Cecilia and Judie during the breaks was part of it, but just singing was the most peaceful part to Christine. She practiced on her own everyday, and with Erik once a week, but singing with the chorus was truly special to Christine. It allowed her to stop thinking, something she had not been able to do since the breakup with Raoul. She could let herself get caught up in the melody of the song and the voices around her. This feeling usually stayed with her for about an hour after practice, although that would not be the case today.

After practice the chorus director let Christine know that she received another solo part, about the same size as her last one. He gave Christine the music and she started skimming through it on the way out to her car. She was about halfway through the music when she got to her car and finally looked up, only to find Raoul standing in front of her car.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice cold.

"I wanted to talk to you. Christine, please, you're not returning any of my calls."

"That's because I have nothing to say to you. Get out of my way Raoul." Christine pushed past him to the driver's side of her car, and Raoul grabbed her by the wrist to stop her.

"Christine, please hear me out. I'm really sorry, please give me another chance." Raoul pled.

Christine yanked her wrist from his hand. "Don't you ever touch me again. And stop trying to call me. Leave me alone. It's over between us, Raoul, and nothing you can say will ever change that. I'm blocking your number."

Christine opened her car door and threw her stuff onto the passenger's seat. Raoul was still talking, begging her to stop and listen to him, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Christine pulled out of her parking spot and drove away without sparing him another glance.

When Christine got down the road a bit, she reached over to turn her music on. She felt freer now. Her peaceful feeling from chorus practice had left her the moment she saw Raoul, but now Christine felt like she left him behind for good. And she couldn't be happier about it.

* * *

All of the songs for Christine's next concert were romantic songs. It was the theme that was chosen for the concert, and Christine had to say that they chose some very good songs. That didn't make singing the songs during her lessons with Erik any easier. It was hard for Christine to sing such romantic lyrics without singing them to Erik. She knew it wasn't the right time for her to get into a new relationship, and she didn't even know if Erik would want that sort of relationship with her. She didn't want to ruin their friendship, even if it meant she couldn't be with him the way she wanted to. Still, it didn't keep her stomach from fluttering when she sang those romantic lyrics.

Since Christine had just gotten the new music, Erik had decided that they would run through all the songs, just to see where she was with them.

Just starting her first song made Christine think of Erik.

_"Lying in bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you"_

She did think of Erik a lot more these days. He was always on her mind, like a ghost haunting her every thought. She still couldn't get his story out of her head, but the uncertainty it brought up didn't stop her from feeling tenderly toward him.

_"And I, I want to share_

_All of my love with you_

_No one else will do"_

That was certainly true. For Christine, no one else could possibly hold the place in her heart that Erik held.

_"You will always be_

_My endless love"_

Christine couldn't stop herself from singing the words to Erik, wishing she could tell him that they were completely true.

Erik listened to Christine sing with equal rapture and longing. She seemed to sing the very words he felt and longed to hear from her.

_"Oh my love, my darling_

_I've hungered for your touch_

_A long, lonely time"_

Every touch that Christine bestowed upon Erik felt like the touch of an angel to him.

_"Why do bird suddenly appear_

_Every time you are near_

_Just like me, they long to be_

_Close to you"_

Christine sang and Erik didn't think there could have been truer words to describe how he felt for her. He constantly longed to be as close as he could be to Christine. The very fact that she allowed him to be close to her after everything he had told her astounded him. The lyrics seemed to be describing Christine.

_"On the day that you were born the angels got together_

_And decided to create a dream come true_

_So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue"_

It was true—Christine's beauty was nothing short of a creation by angels. Nothing else could describe it. Erik had never placed much faith in a higher power, but Christine proved one existed. No one as good as her could exist in a world without a God.

The last line Christine sang left the pair silent.

_"This, oh this, this is our fate, I'm yours"_

Erik had no idea how much Christine meant it, and Christine had no clue how much Erik longed for those words to be true. If she was honest with herself, Christine knew she was Erik's, if he ever wanted her. But he surely didn't. He wouldn't want her invading his peace and privacy to that extent. They were better off as friends. At least, she could tell herself that.

Finally Erik cleared his throat.

"Well, that's an hour. If you have to go I understand, but I would love to go over some finer points of the songs if you have the time."

"I have another hour before I have to go to work," Christine agreed, more than happy to extend her time with Erik.

"Wonderful," Erik said. And just like that, they were diving back into the music.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. The songs were Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper, Endless Love by Diana Ross, Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers, (They Long to Be) Close to You by Carpenters, and I'm Yours by Jason Mraz. Obviously I didn't use the whole songs, just a couple of lines. Please review, and if you don't feel comfortable reviewing feel free to PM me. - K**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi guys. Thank you for everyone is is reading, following, and all of the amazing reviews. I love you guys. I am sorry for the delay is posting this chapter. I had a huge assignment to do in two days and lots of other work. Wednesday I officially started quarantining, I was exposed to a positive case :(. I feel fine but I still can't go anywhere, so maybe I will write more. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you like it.**

* * *

The weather was finally turning warm again and Christine was able to shed the thick layers of winter and enjoy the spring air. Easter was around the corner and with it was the next concert. Christine's nervousness had all but disappeared when it came to performing, so she was mostly able to look forward to the holiday.

Easter was a special holiday for Christine. After her father died, the holidays were harder for Christine. But Meg's family's tradition of hosting an egg hunt for the neighborhood children had made Christine's first Easter without her father bearable,—it was hard to be upset amongst the infectious happiness of the younger children. It was the first holiday since her father's death where she'd felt like herself again. So now she was at the store buying lots of candy and goodies for the children. All those smiling children made the small investment well worth it.

When Christine got home she packed up all her stuff, including the items she purchased, before heading over to Erik's. With the concert just around the corner, she wanted to get one more lesson in before she left, but if she was being completely honest she wanted to see him too. Christine paid a little more attention to her appearance than she usually did before leaving the apartment. It was a habit she'd recently picked up, without noticing it, before visiting Erik.

* * *

Each lesson was a new joy and a new struggle for Erik. Hearing Christine sing the beautiful words of her songs made his heart soar, and many times it felt like she was singing directly to him. But, he knew that couldn't be true, that it never would be true, and the thought quickly depressed him. This was not helped by Christine's extraordinary beauty. She resembled an angel with her golden hair and radiant smile. All Erik wanted to do when he saw her was hold her in his arms and never let go. Every lesson required Erik to set those feelings aside and focus simply on teaching her. To Erik, the lessons were both far too long to maintain this façade while also far too short to enjoy Christine's presence. He lost all sense of time while she was singing, and the end of the lesson came before he knew it.

"I won't be here this weekend, so we won't be able to meet again until there is less than a week before my concert," Christine was saying, dragging him from his thoughts.

"Where will you be?" He was unable to completely keep the disappointment from his voice.

"I'm visiting Meg's family for Easter." Christine paused. "Do you think I'm prepared enough for this concert?"

"You will be extraordinary. You are more than ready," Erik assured her.

"Thank you," Christine said, smiling. Hearing him talk like that never failed to make her happy. "I hope you have a pleasant Easter."

Erik doubted he would. He was never big on holidays, and the fact that Easter meant that Christine would be away only turned his attitude more sour. "I'll try."

"Good. I'll miss seeing you." The words left her mouth before she could check them. Luckily Erik didn't call her out.

"I'll miss you too. Have a pleasant holiday." As Erik watched her go, he wondered if she could really mean what she said.

* * *

Almost the second after Christine walked into her apartment, Meg knocked on the door.

"Ready to go?"

Christine was already slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder. "Yep, I'm all packed. Do you want to drive there or do you want me to?"

"I'll drive," Meg offered.

Soon Christine had her things loaded into the car and they were cruising down the highway. They drove in silence for a while, content to listen to the radio, but Christine got the feeling there was something Meg wanted to say. She didn't have to wait too long before her suspicions were confirmed.

"So… how are you and Erik getting along?"

"Oh, fine." Christine replied airily.

Meg raised her eyebrows skeptically.

Christine sighed. "I don't know what you expect me to say. We are friends, that's it. I just got out of a relationship with Raoul, and I am not going to screw up my friendship with Erik. Okay?"

"Okay, if you say so." Meg agreed. "But you deserve to be happy. Even if it is risky."

"But I am happy! I have a job I love, I am singing again, I have wonderful friends. What more do I need?"

"I think you want to be more than just friends with Erik, even if you deny it. It's clear that you really care about him, and from what you have told me, you mean something to him too. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. But don't hold back because you are afraid."

Christine pondered this for a moment "Maybe you are right, I don't know. But let's not talk about it anymore. Tell me about how you're doing." Despite changing the subject, Meg's words did not leave Christine's head for the entire drive.

* * *

Meg and Christine were greeted by Meg's very excited mother, who was quick to wrap them each in a hug.

"How are you two? I haven't seen you in too long."

"We are good, Mom, and we're super happy to see you too," Meg said.

"Yeah, I've missed seeing you," Christine confessed. It really had been too long since she'd visited. Coming here now felt as comfortable as returning to her own childhood home.

It didn't take long to unload the car, and soon they were settled in and sitting on the couch in Miss Giry's living room.

"So, what is new with you girls?" she asked them.

"Nothing is super new with me," Meg told her mom. "But Christine broke up with Raoul."

"Oh, I am sorry sweetheart. What happened?"

"I caught him cheating on me," Christine said, looking down. The sting of it had lessened, but it still wasn't a pleasant thing to admit.

"Oh, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Miss Giry asked, concern immediately entering her features.

"It's okay. I am honestly a little glad. Our relationship wasn't working, and I am so much happier now that I am not with him anymore."

"Well, I am glad you are happy. That is all that matters. Although I have some words for that Raoul," Miss Giry said protectively. Meg murmured her agreement.

Christine smiled at their support "Thank you guys, but I am fine. Really I am."

"Well, how is your singing going?" Miss Giry asked.

"Oh, amazingly." Christine said, lighting up. "I've gotten some solo parts and it feels amazing. Of course, I could never have done it without Erik." She could feel her face heating as she spoke.

"You guys get along well?" asked Miss Giry, raising an eyebrow.

"We are really close friends." Christine said elusively. Out of Christine's vision Meg mouthed _I'll tell you later_ and despite wanting more information Miss Giry dropped the topic.

"Well… I am going to get dinner ready, you girls just relax," Miss Giry said, standing up. She waved off Christine's offers to help. "You've had a long trip. Relax. Plus, we are all going to be getting up early tomorrow to set up the Easter hunt."

* * *

Christine awoke to her alarm, excited at the pending holiday. She dressed in a coral floral printed skirt and a light blue sweater. After breakfast with Meg and Miss Giry, they had a bit of down time before they had to get to work on the egg hunt. She opened her contacts to Erik's number.

_Happy Easter_, she sent.

Erik didn't reply right away, and after scrolling through her phone for about 10 more minutes it was time to set up the hunt. The night before the three of them stuffed plastic eggs with candy, so now all they had to do was hide them. It was fun coming up with creative hiding spots that the kids would enjoy, and soon all the eggs were hidden.

"We did pretty well," Meg commented, admiring their handiwork.

"Yeah, we did," Christine agreed, smiling.

After the Easter service many people gathered to begin the hunt. Kids, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—it was a scene filled with love and Christine could feel it in the air. She smiled as the children happily ran around, filling their baskets. Only her phone dinging could draw her attention away, and she looked down to find a text from Erik.

_Happy Easter to you too. I admit I am not one to celebrate the holiday. But I appreciate your well wishes._ The text was formal but kind, precisely how Erik spoke. Christine smiled and snapped a photo of the Easter egg hunt to send to him.

_They seem to be enjoying it_, she captioned the image.

_Joy is simple for children. Who are those people?_

_Family friends. We always set the Easter egg hunt up for the kids in the neighborhood. It is fun seeing how happy they get._

_You are a kind person_, came Erik's prompt reply. _Those children are lucky to know you._

"Whatcha' doin?" Meg asked, coming up from behind Christine.

"Nothing," Christine said, turning off her phone screen. "Just texting a friend."

"Mmm, and does this friend's name rhyme with Derrick?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Christine replied, proving to Meg that her guess was correct. "Come on, let's go see what the kids have found."

For now she could distract herself with the sweet, excited children finding candy. But Christine knew that she was running out of ways to distract herself from her feelings for Erik.

* * *

**End of chapter. I hope you liked it. A huge thank you to my beta reader lks358. She is so helpful and I couldn't do this without her. Please review, and always feel free to PM me. -K**


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you guys for all the amazing reviews. You are my motivation. Hey guys, sorry for the late update. I have been going through some writer's block and also my schedule has been super busy. I hope this chapter makes up for the wait. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.**

* * *

It was finally the night of the concert and Christine felt strangely calm standing backstage with the other members of the chorus. The irony of it was that her lack of nerves about the upcoming performance made her unsettled, but it was nothing close to the anxiety she had faced before. She actually had it in her to whisper quietly with her friends before the group was pulled onto the stage and she fell into silence. The spotlights were focused on the stage, blinding her momentarily, but then her eyes adjusted and she could see the crowd before her. It was a sizable crowd to be sure, and instead of provoking anxiety, this filled her with a thrilling sense of joy. All these people were here, and they would hear her sing.

Throughout the beginning of the concert, Christine focused on Meg's face in the sea of people. It was easier this way. She knew Erik was there—he said he would be. He was always there, she noticed. At her concerts. Less noticeable than Meg, and Raoul when they were dating, but in the audience. Usually, in a dark corner, somewhere her eyes wouldn't catch on a casual scan of the crowd. She had to try to find him, but she was always able to. But she didn't right now. She didn't because it was easier to look at Meg and sing these songs than sing them to him on stage. It was too real, and Christine somehow knew that if she allowed her eyes to find his, for even a moment during this concert, she would no longer be able to keep her feelings for him under control.

It wasn't until the end of the concert that Christine's eyes finally found Erik's in the dark corner of the theater. She held out until the second half of the "Close to You," keeping her gaze focused steadily on Meg, but something about the words made her lose her will. She couldn't help but look for him. Her head remained facing forward while her eyes darted around the theater. She found him before the end of "I'm Yours" and sang the words faithfully, letting the truth of the words seep into her voice. Even if Erik didn't know, acknowledging it herself felt… freeing.

The concert ended almost abruptly, or at least it felt that way to Christine. The curtains closed, cutting off her view of the crowd, and when they opened again she was joining hands with her chorus members and bowing to the cheers of the crowd. All she thought of was Erik; in the sea of approval, his was the only that she cared about. Soon the time for bowing and applause was over and Christine was pulled off of the stage by the sea of movement from the bodies around her.

The flurry of activity didn't let up until Christine stepped outside into the warm night air. She left through a side entrance, wanting to avoid pushing through the throng of people who would be leaving the theater. Usually, she and Meg would go out and celebrate after one of her concerts, but Meg was busy tonight and thus unable. She had told this news to Christine with an apology, but Christine had told her not to worry. It was nice just having her at the concert, and they would surely have time to meet up sometime later in the week.

She almost didn't see Erik standing there when she walked outside, but the soft sound of his voice caught her attention immediately.

"You sang brilliantly," he told her, his voice like a melody.

Christine grinned at this, her heart speeding in her chest as she walked closer to him. "Thank you. I never would have done it without you." She felt like a broken record as often as she said some variation of this to him, but it was true. He was the one who pushed her to sing again, and for some amazing reason she had listened to him. And now, here she was.

"You had all the resources to do this without me," he told her, always impressed that an angel like her felt such gratitude to a monster like him.

Christine had so much more she wanted to say to him, but not here in the empty space behind her theater. Not now. "Are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.

Erik smiled wryly at her. "I believe I'm free. Why do you ask?"

"You told me before that you write your own compositions. I've never heard you play them. I'd love to hear something you wrote if you wouldn't mind too much."

"It would be my delight to entertain you," Erik told her. He sensed she had ulterior motives, but he didn't particularly care. If he got to spend time with Christine, her motivations for such a choice mattered not.

They drove separately to Erik's house, and Christine was glad for this. It gave her time to collect her thoughts. She couldn't think straight, not while she was around Erik. Her feelings were simply too overwhelming. The time didn't help. By the time she pulled up in Erik's dark driveway she still didn't have a plan for the evening. It was just as well, she supposed. She had learned long ago that with Erik, you couldn't make a plan for how something should go. When she was with him she lost the control she tried to carefully maintain in her life, and she loved it.

Erik had beat her there and was standing on his front porch, waiting for her. He opened the door for her when she approached. "Please, come in."

Christine accepted his invitation, smiling at his chivalry. Soon they were settled in the music room. Erik sat at the grand piano and Christine sat near him in a chair. They were silent for the most part, a not uncommon occurrence for the pair. Neither of them could think of something to say, and music spoke for them on a level that words couldn't. The silence was broken not by words, but by strands of music emitting from the piano as Erik played.

Erik had played accompaniments to her songs before, but she had never seen him play like this—completely absorbed in the music in an entrancing way. He sits tall and straight, more sure of himself than she had ever seen him. His entire demeanor had changed from a man who seemed to feel that he had to constantly apologize for his existence to one who was sure of himself without thought. Christine loved both of these men, both the one she had just met and the one she had known all this time. And the music he played… Christine had no words to describe it. It floated around the air and wrapped itself around her, ebbing and flowing as it did. It was unlike anything she had heard before, beautiful in a way that Christine never imagined music had the ability to be. He shifted from song to song in the way of a natural-born musician and at some point, she got up from her chair and moved to the bench beside him. She watched his fingers fly across the keys, his focus so complete she didn't think he noticed her sitting next to him. The music overwhelmed her. She wanted him to play forever, but she also wanted him to stop, almost desperately so because it was all too much. The song he was playing came to an end eventually, and a flash of surprise crossed his visible features when he saw her sitting beside him.

"That was the most beautiful music I have ever heard," Christine said horsley, and even as she said it she knew her words fell so short of describing what she just heard. She moved her hand to his shoulder, touching him gently. "Did you truly compose that?"

"I did," Erik told her, not quite knowing where he found his voice. Christine was so close to him, touching him, even. He could smell her perfume lingering in the air between them.

Christine took a deep breath, steadying herself internally for what she was about to say. Erik was looking down at her, his eyes shining with an unknown emotion. One she had seen in his eyes so many times before. His lips carried the same soft expression and all she wanted to do was kiss him. So she did. She moved her hand to his unmarred cheek and lifted her lips until they met his. She kissed him because it was easier than talking and because she had wanted to for a very long time and she was tired of holding back.

When Erik felt Christine's lips on his, his first thought was that she must have made some mistake. He froze, terrified of messing something up. But after a moment she was still kissing him. It was real. So he slowly started to move his lips against hers, not quite believing what was happening. She pulled away too soon.

"Christine…?" he said, his voice filled with love and confusion.

"I—I'm sorry. I just, I know we are friends, but I feel all these feelings for you that go beyond that. I just had to… I couldn't not. I'm sorry if that's not what you want," Christine stuttered out, not knowing how to express what she felt. She was at least sure that he'd kissed her back, and she wanted to see that as a good sign.

Erik shook his head and put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't apologize. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Christine. I love you so much, and the fact that you could feel anything for me is nothing short of a miracle."

Christine smiled, a happiness unlike any she has ever felt filling her chest. She placed her hands on each side of Erik's face. One hand rested on the flesh of his cheek and the other she placed on his mask. "I think, I'm pretty sure, I love you too," she mumbled out breathlessly.

"Oh, Christine. An angel like yourself ought to love someone so much better than a monster like me." Erik sighed.

"I wouldn't want anyone else," Christine told him sincerely. She slowly removed his mask, glancing at him for permission before she did so. When it was off she kissed him again. "If you will have me?"

When she kissed him with his mask off Erik was sure he was dreaming. When she asked if he wanted her, a shy smile spreading across her face as she did, it was all he could do was say yes. He wanted her. Of course, he did. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, she kissed him again. If this was all a dream, then he didn't want to wake up.

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**End of chapter. So, what do you guys think? Finally some Christine x Erik. I've been working towards this for a while so I hope you guys like it. Please review! -K**

**P.S. -My P.M.'s are always open :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys I am back with a new chapter, finally. I am so sorry for the long wait between chapters. I was stuck on where the story was going for a while but I will try to be more consistent. Thank you for everyone's lovely reviews. They mean the world to me.** **Also spoiler alert for the end of Titanic below. I forgot to add it earlier because I figure most people know how it ends, even if they haven't watched it, but I wanted to give you a heads up. **

* * *

"Oh, wow, Christine! I'm so happy for you!" Meg exclaimed. They were sitting in Meg's place and Christine had just finished telling her everything that had happened the night before.

"Me too! I never thought I could be so happy. I mean, we probably still have to talk more. But I feel so free to not be carrying this around with me anymore. And he told me that he loves me, Meg. I feel like this is all a dream."

"You're not dreaming, this is real. But you know I have to meet this guy now." Christine started to protest but Meg held her hand up to stop her. "I know what you are going to say. I get that Erik isn't much of a people person. But I'm your best friend. If he wants to be a part of your life as much as he lets on, he'll have to meet me eventually."

Christine sighed. "I know you are right, I just don't want to scare him off."

Meg put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Hey, I may not know him, but it is clear he really cares about you. Trust him, and trust your own judgment in choosing him."

"I choose Raoul and look how much good that did me," Christine muttered.

Meg squeezed Christine's hand. "You trusted the Raoul you knew as a kid. You thought he was the same person as he was when you first knew him."

"Thanks, Meg. You're a good friend." Christine said with a smile.

* * *

Erik didn't sleep. He hadn't moved since after Christine left; he just sat awake, replaying the events in his head, not believing that they truly happened. How could he possibly be so lucky after everything he had done? He was not good enough on the day of his birth, and he only got worse. But for some reason Christine loved him.

There was a knock on the door and Erik went to open it without thinking to replace his mask. Christine stood on his porch and she smiled when she saw him.

"Hey," she greeted him before stepping forward and kissing him square on the lips. He scarcely remembered to kiss her back. "I missed you."

Erik smiled, bemused. "It's been less than 24 hours since you last saw me."

"I still missed you."

"I missed you too," Erik told her gently.

"I know we didn't make any plans, but I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie or something. I just wanted to be with you," Christine said.

"Of course," Erik responded quickly, struggling to believe that Christine would choose to spend time with him over all her friends.

The two made their way into Erik's living room. Erik sat on the couch and Christine sat on the floor in front of a cabinet full of movies. She was surprised to see so many movies occupying the space.

"Have you seen these all?" she asked him, flipping through the titles.

"No, I bought them with the intention to watch them. I spent so much of my life without the American pop culture, I wanted to see what I was missing. But I never got around to watching most of them."

"Well, now you have someone to watch them with. These are some great movies, I can't choose. I'm kind of a movie junkie. It was one of my favorite things to do with my dad when he was still alive. Especially when he got sick, he had trouble with a lot of things that used to be easy for him. But we could always kick back and watch a movie together. He said it was one of the only things that kept him feeling whole at the end." Christine wiped away a tear she hadn't noticed had formed while she was speaking. Even though she was mostly at peace with her dad's passing, sometimes it still stung.

Erik was at her side in an instant, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. Christine let herself relax and draw strength from his embrace. After a moment she pulled away.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. I will always be here if you need me," Erik promised. He stayed beside Christine, their legs brushing against each other as she grabbed another movie.

"Ooh, have you seen Titanic?" Christine asked excitedly.

"No, I can't say that I have. Although I can guess that it doesn't have a happy ending," Erik said cynically.

"Oh, but it's one of my favorites. Come on, we have to watch it," Christine pleaded.

One look at Christine's captivating eyes took away any disagreement Erik might have had, and soon the two were sitting on the couch while the movie opened.

As the movie progressed Christine cuddled closer to Erik, resting her head on his shoulder. Erik spent the movie carefully dividing his attention between the movie that Christine has endorsed and Christine's body pressed up against him. She didn't speak much except to offer occasional whispered comments during different parts of the movie. Erik stored away all the information she provided, as he always did when speaking to Christine. He wanted to remember anything that might be important to her.

By the end of the movie, Christine was gripping his hand tightly, crying as they watched Jack die. Erik allowed himself to hold her a little closer. Her tears made him uneasy, reminding him too much of the times he had seen her cry for real, but he couldn't find it in himself to dislike the way she curled into him for comfort.

"So, what did you think?" Christine asked as the credits rolled on the screen, wiping her eyes even as she smiled at him.

"It was good, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would," Erik said honestly. "I never thought I would have enjoyed that type of movie before, certainly not before I met you. But you make me better, happier."

Christine smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. Slowly she deepened the kiss, and Erik kissed her back with equal passion. They were both breathless when they broke apart.

Erik was the first to find words. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Christine said back, smiling. "So I was wondering, are you free this Friday?

"Yes, what is it you had in mind?" Erik asked.

"Well, Meg wanted to meet you. I thought maybe the three of us could hang out sometime," Christine said, rushing over her words. She could see Erik close himself off at her request, go into self-defense mode. "I know it's not really your thing, but she's my best friend. It would mean a lot to me," she said, squeezing his hand gently.

Erik sighed heavily, uncertain how to proceed. "Are you sure your friend would want someone like me coming over?"

Christine hated hearing Erik talk about himself like that. "Don't say things like that. Meg will be happy to meet you, I promise."

Erik hesitated for a second before reluctantly agreeing. "If it means so much to you, then I will come."

"Thank you," Christine said sincerely. "We can figure out the details later"

* * *

Erik stood in front of the door, frozen. He could hear voices on the other side, but they came in soft murmurs and he couldn't make out what they were saying. He wore a mask that was as close to skin tone as he could find so it virtually blended in with his features, allowing him to go unnoticed in more crowded situations. But it would still be noticeable if someone were to sit and talk to him for any amount of time. There'd be no hiding tonight, not really. After a long internal debate, Erik finally reached his hand out to knock.

Christine was quick to open the door. She kissed him quickly on his exposed cheek. "Thank you for coming," she said before taking his arm and leading him into the living room. Erik allowed her to lead him, taking in his surroundings as they walked. Soon they were in the living room area and a curly-haired woman who Erik could only assume was Meg stood to greet him.

"Hi Erik, I'm Meg," the girl introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you."

Erik offered his hand out and Meg shook it firmly. "It's nice to meet you too." He was aware that he was speaking incredibly formally but his nerves wouldn't calm down. He hated that he was this nervous over something like this—he had done much worse than a meet-and-greet without batting an eye.

"So Erik, have you ever played Monopoly? Because I have been trying to beat Christine forever but I've never been able to. Maybe it will be harder for her to cheat against two people."

"I don't cheat!" Christine exclaimed. "I just strategize."

"Strategize to make me go bankrupt," Meg grumbled.

"That's the point of the game," Christine defended. "You don't win by being nice."

Erik looked between the two girls, surprised by the light-hearted banter going on around him. When he had imagined this event he had pictured a tense and uncomfortable atmosphere, but here he was in the exact opposite of that. He realized now why Christine was such close friends with Meg because it was she who had changed their meeting from tense and confusing to happy and cheerful. When he thought about it, Erik realized he shouldn't have been so surprised. Christine was a good person, and she deserved nothing less in a friend than the woman she was laughing and smiling with at that very moment.

Maybe this night wouldn't be as painful as he had feared.

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**End of chapter. So what did you guys think? As always I love reviews so please leave them ****. Also if you want to pm with questions or thoughts that you are not comfortable sharing publically please feel free. - K**


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